Congestion Relief Scores High on Portlander's Complaints

Congestion relief rates more important than education, taxes or healthcare in Portland.
Here is an open ended question from a recent survey commissioned by a group studying how to reduce congestion on the bridges across the Columbia river

  Q2. What is the most important issue that you would like to see your local and regional government
officials do something about? (Open, probe for one issue only)

Traffic Congestion/Control -------------------------------------------------17%
Education Quality ----------------------------------------------------------11%
Education Funding----------------------------------------------------------11%
Tax Control ----------------------------------------------------------------- 8%
Road/Freeway Development/Maintenance ----------------------------------- 5%
Growth/Development Control/Land Use ------------------------------------- 4%
Healthcare/Insurance -------------------------------------------------------- 4%
Crime/Public Safety --------------------------------------------------------- 4%
All other responses---------------------------------------------------- 3% or less

Here is another survey, this one commissioned by Metro

DAVIS, HIBBITTS & MIDGHALL, INC.
METRO PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH – ANNOTATED QUESTIONNAIRE
N=600 Full Sample (N=300 Sample A; N=300 Sample B)
January 6-10, 2006; age 18 plus RDD sample; tri-county (Metro service area)
February 3, 2006

Public Opinion Full Questionnaire.pdf

Although Congestion didn't rate #1 on all questions, it did here:

(Full Sample) 4. What is it that bothers you the most about the quality of life you have in the
region? (OPEN/PROBE FOR ONE RESPONSE)

Traffic Congestion/Transportation ----------------------------------17%
Population Growth ------------------------------------------------13%
Rain/Weather ----------------------------------------------------- 8%
Cost Of Living----------------------------------------------------- 7%
Crime/Public Safety ------------------------------------------------ 7%
Government/Politics ------------------------------------------------ 5%
Education/Schools-------------------------------------------------- 4%
Taxes---------------------------------------------------------------4%
Environmental Pollution-------------------------------------------- 3%
Employment Opportunity/Jobs ------------------------------------- 2%
People/Attitudes --------------------------------------------------- 2%
Liberalism-----------------------------------------------------------2%
Drugs---------------------------------------------------------------2%
Healthcare --------------------------------------------------------- 2%
All Other Responses ------------------------------------------------ 1% or less
Other-----------------------------------------------------------------8%

Here is a survey of downtown businesses
Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, Inc.
Portland Business Alliance Membership Survey
December 2005, n=250, PBA members

Q2. If you had to pick just one issue for local governments in the Portland area to make their
priority over the next year, what issue would that be? (Open, probe for one specific issue only.)

Education funding------------------------------------------------------15%
Improve roadways/Reduce congestion --------------------------------11%
Lower taxes ----------------------------------------------------------10%
Business development-------------------------------------------------10%
Homeless/Pan handlings------------------------------------------------ 8%
Education (general)----------------------------------------------------- 6%
Government spending -------------------------------------------------- 6%
Public safety ---------------------------------------------------------- 5%
All other responses --------------------------------------------- 4% or less
DK / Na / Refused ---------------------------------------------------- 2%

A Survey done by Portland State University's Institute for Metropolitan Studies
This wide ranging survey contained one question on traffic.
Note that 64.8% of respondents were either "completely Dissatisfied" or "Somewhat
Dissatisfied" With our roads and traffic. Yanhill County lead the region at 77.8%
Table Q5C: Roads and Traffic.
Completely
Dissatisfied
Somewhat
Dissatisfied
Somewhat
Satisfied
Completely
Satisfied
Neither
Satisfied Nor
Dissatisfied
Don't know
Refused to
Answer
% n % n % n % n % n % n % n
Total Sample
24.5
204
40.3
336
27.5
229
6.4
53
.8
7
.2
2
.2
2
Clackamas County
17.1
22
45.0
58
30.2
39
7.8
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
Clark County
27.0
40
36.5
54
27.7
41
6.8
10
1.4
2
.7
1
0
0
Columbia County
25.7
35
35.3
48
28.7
39
8.8
12
1.5
2
0
0
0
0
Multnomah County
21.0
34
38.3
62
31.5
51
6.8
11
1.9
3
.6
1
0
0
Washington County
23.4
32
45.3
62
26.3
36
5.1
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
Yamhil County
34.2
40
43.6
51
17.9
21
2.6
3
0
0
0
0
1.7
2

Unpublished Survey done by Metro: Build roads
The actual, unmodified, exactly as received from Metro, survey 

Question asked: Rate these potential transportation improvements for the Highway 217 corridor.
  not important somewhat important important very important Response Average
additional highway lane(s) 13 14 48 266 3.66
interchange improvements 11 48 112 164 3.28
arterial improvements (better north-south access on roads) 28 76 122 108 2.93
transit improvements 66 112 79 75 2.49
bike and pedestrian trail improvements 157 88 44 46 1.94
           
Total Respondents 343        
(skipped this question) 9        

Here is how the local newspaper described the above survey
The Oregonian, Thursday, November 10, 2005:

Residents wary as officials consider toll lanes for Oregon 217:

Metro received about 350 survey responses, 42 e-mails, seven letters and 11 telephone calls. About 35
residents showed up at an open house. Speakers from Metro or the advisory committee addressed about
500 people at neighborhood associations, business organizations and service clubs.

Metro officials do not plan to tabulate the survey results because the survey was not scientific, and
respondents did not represent a demographic cross section, Wieghart said. Survey respondents tended to
be male highly educated long-term residents with high incomes.

"It would be misleading to put a graph together," Wieghart said.

Keep large lots, small parks, new development compatibility

Neighborhood Characteristics -
Review of the residential and commercial area characteristics that are important to our community.

Residential Neighborhood Characteristics

Quality

Very & Somewhat Important

Somewhat and Very Unimportant
Small lot size (Less than 7,500 sq. ft.)  

70%
Large lot size (7,500 sq. ft. and larger)

83%

  
Small neighborhood parks within half a mile of home

82%

  
Undeveloped open space/greenways within half mile of home

84%

  
Variety of housing types within new developments
(single family, row housed, apartments, etc.)		  

54%
Maintain existing lot sizes within established neighborhoods

87%

  
Pedestrian and bike paths

89%

  
Neighborhood traffic management

92%

  
Compatibility between existing and new developments

92%

  
This chart shows neighborhood compatibility (between existing and new) along with traffic management as the highest qualities desired by respondents. It also shows there were two cases where the qualities listed were unimportant to the community; small lot size at 70% and a variety of housing types within new developments at 54%.

The survey from the City of Tigard web site (Executive Overview)
The survey from the City of Tigard web site (full report)