Traffic crawls on the eastbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Natick last week. A new survey has found that roadway congestion is a top concern for many Americans.
Three-fourths of Americans believe that smart development and the improvement of public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic than building new roads, according to a survey by Smart Growth America and the National Association of Realtors.
The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey found that traffic congestion is a top concern. Nearly half of those surveyed said improving public transit would be the best way to reduce congestion, and 26 percent believe developing communities that reduce the need to drive would be the better alternative. Only one in five said building new roads was the answer.
“Realtors build communities, and care about improving our cities and towns through smarter development,” NAR President Patricia V. Combs said in a prepared statement. “With increased traffic congestion and longer commutes, Americans are receptive to new ideas for handling growth, such as better transit or mixed-use walkable communities that allow people to cut down on their driving, as this survey shows.”
Americans give their communities high marks when it comes to providing quality schools, parks and open space. But respondents were less optimistic about their town’s ability to provide convenient transportation and to manage growth and development. While one-third approve of growth in their neighborhoods, the percentage of those who disapprove of growth has doubled since 1999, from 10 percent to 20 percent.
The survey also showed that Americans are more concerned about how their neighborhoods are handling that growth and development than they have been in eight years of polling. Only 39 percent say their community is doing an excellent or good job of handling growth, while 58 percent are convinced the community is doing a fair or poor job.
When asked about their top concerns about growth and development, respondents consistently cited the loss of farmland to development (72 percent), increased congestion and commute times (70 percent), and loss of open space (70 percent). Other worries include the loss of individual character of communities, increased reliance on cars because of sprawl, and the loss of historic landmarks and neighborhoods. The greatest increase was among those concerned about the increase in highway commercial development such as strip malls, which is up 25 percent in the past six years.
‘Looking for Options’
This year’s survey also asked about climate change, with more than 70 percent of respondents expressing concern about how growth and development affect global warming. Americans showed strong support for bold measures to combat climate change. Nearly nine in 10 believe that new communities should be built so people can walk more and drive less; cars, homes and buildings should be required to be more energy-efficient; and public transportation should be improved and made more available. Americans strongly disapprove (84 percent) of increasing gasoline taxes as a way to discourage driving and reduce energy use.
“With concern about climate change rising along with gas prices, Americans are looking for options that allow them to reduce the time they spend in the car,” Smart Growth America Executive Director Donald Chen said in a prepared statement. “Americans see smarter development patterns as a viable way to achieve that goal, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Eight in 10 respondents prefer redeveloping older urban and suburban areas, rather than building new housing and commercial developments on the edge of existing suburbs. More than half of those surveyed believe that businesses and homes should be built closer together to shorten commutes, limit traffic congestion and allow residents to walk to stores and shops instead of using their cars. Six in 10 also agree that new-home construction should be limited in outlying areas and encouraged in inner urban areas to shorten commutes and prevent more traffic congestion.
With the cost of building roads often exceeding revenues, many states are turning to tolls as a key funding source, and the survey showed that Americans are divided on that strategy. About 55 percent approve of charging tolls on more roadways if that improves roads and decreases congestion, but six in 10 are opposed to charging tolls on freeways during rush hour to reduce congestion. Respondents also are split on charging tolls during rush hour, even if the money is used to provide transportation alternatives to the freeway.
When it comes to spending taxpayer dollars, respondents believe Congress should spend more money to maintain and repair existing roads, highways and bridges, and to expand and improve public transit, than to build new roads.
Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to the private ownership of roads – that is, selling highways to private companies that would charge a toll and give a portion of the cash to the state. Eighty-four percent of respondents oppose private ownership of roads; only 14 percent support the concept. Similarly, 66 percent are opposed to allowing private companies to build, own and collect tolls for new roads, even if those companies gave a portion of the toll money to the state.
The survey was conducted last month, by telephone, among 1,000 adults living in the United States. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Smart Growth America is a coalition of nearly 100 nonprofit organizations with a stake in how metropolitan expansion affects the environment, quality of life and economic sustainability. The National Association of Realtors is one of the nation’s largest trade associations, representing more than 1.3 million members.
