Virginians Don’t Think Transportation Plan Will Be Enough to Solve State’s Traffic Congestion; Approve of Regional Funding for Transportation
News Release - October 15, 2007
Media Contact:
Dr. Quentin Kidd
Director – CNU Center for Public Policy
qkidd@cnu.edu
Office: (757) 594-7971 - Mobile: (757) 334-8002
Emily L. Lucier
Press Secretary and Media Manager
emily.lucier@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - Asked whether the transportation plan agreed to earlier in the year by Governor Kaine and the General Assembly will be enough to address the state’s traffic congestion needs, 61% of Virginians say that more will be needed. Only 18% believe it will be enough. Opinions in Northern Virginia (70%) and Hampton Roads (59%) mirror statewide views. Even downstate Republicans say it will not be enough by a 2-1 ratio. These findings are from Christopher Newport University’s Virginia Poll , a new omnibus survey from the Center for Public Policy at CNU. The poll was conducted September 27- October 1, 2007 with 700 registered voters in Virginia. The margin of error is +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence level.
Virginia Poll
CNU Center for Public Policy
“Earlier this year, Governor Kaine and the General Assembly agreed to a $500 million transportation plan. In your opinion, will this new transportation plan be enough to address the state’s congestion needs especially in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads regions OR will more be needed to be done in the near future to address traffic problems?” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Enough |
18 |
11 |
18 |
22 |
29 |
17 |
15 |
22 |
18 |
|
More Needed |
61 |
70 |
59 |
62 |
44 |
57 |
68 |
57 |
63 |
|
Don’t Know |
21 |
18 |
24 |
17 |
27 |
26 |
17 |
20 |
19 |
|
One of the central elements of the transportation plan was to allow for local area transportation funding. A majority of voters (55%) approve of this approach, and this majority holds across all regions of the state except in Hampton Roads, where voters are split on the idea of local area transportation funding. Democrats are nearly evenly split on the idea of local area transportation funding, while a majority of Republican and Independents support it. “These numbers reflect the public’s pessimistic view of the transportation plan. Voters just don’t think it really will solve the problem. And, the two regions where transportation is the biggest problem are split on the issue of regional taxing for transportation. Voters in Northern Virginia support it while voters in Hampton Roads are divided,” noted Dr. Quentin Kidd, Director of the CNU Center for Public Policy.
“Part of the new transportation plan allows the local areas of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia for the first time, to raise their own local tax revenues and spend that money only locally on transportation projects. Do you support this idea of local area transportation funding OR do you feel transportation funding should remain only a state government responsibility?” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Support Local |
55 |
60 |
45 |
59 |
49 |
60 |
51 |
56 |
57 |
|
State Responsibility |
38 |
35 |
45 |
37 |
40 |
27 |
42 |
38 |
37 |
|
Don’t Know |
7 |
5 |
10 |
4 |
11 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
|
Voters Frustrated by Abusive Driver Fees . . . Blame Everyone
Voters are frustrated about abusive drive fees, and spread the blame evenly. Asked if they had a positive or negative view of the so-called abuse driver fees, 58% of respondents had a negative view and only 38% had a positive view. Negative views are shared across the state, except in Hampton Roads where voters are split. Republicans and Independents have stronger negative views than do Democrats. Who do voters blame for the abusive driver fees? They blame everyone, by a whopping 70% margin. “We clearly see voter frustration with the abuser fees, and this frustration is spread across all regions of the state. I expect the General Assembly will act to change this part of the transportation plan very quickly in January,” said Dr. Kidd.
“Part of this funding for the new transportation plan included a steep increase in the so-called abusive driver fees that can add up to thousands of dollars in fines for Virginia’s drunk drivers and those guilty of multiple aggressive driving violations. As originally written, these higher abusive driver fee laws apply only to Virginia residents and not out-of-state licensed drivers. First of all, is your opinion of these so called ‘abusive driver fees’ positive or negative?” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Positive |
38 |
33 |
48 |
36 |
41 |
31 |
44 |
35 |
36 |
|
Negative |
58 |
63 |
49 |
59 |
54 |
65 |
52 |
63 |
59 |
|
Don’t Know |
4 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
|
“Who do you think is most responsible for these abusive driver fees being in the transportation package – the Governor, Republican leaders of the legislature, Democrats in the legislature, or a mix of all?” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Governor |
8 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
9 |
4 |
13 |
6 |
|
Republican |
9 |
13 |
8 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
4 |
9 |
|
Democrats |
2 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Mix |
70 |
66 |
69 |
69 |
79 |
73 |
73 |
64 |
73 |
|
Don’t Know |
12 |
10 |
18 |
11 |
11 |
13 |
8 |
14 |
12 |
|
Virginian’s Balkanized on Importance of Regional Issues
While the traffic problems in Northern Virginia are seen as important by almost half of voters, Virginians generally have very parochial views about the importance of problems in other parts of the state. When asked to rate the importance of unemployment in Southwest and Southside, traffic congestion on I-81, and traffic congestion in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, voters tend to see their own regional problems as more critical than problems in other parts of the state. In addition, a surprising number of voters think certain regional problems are not a priority for the rest of the state. For instance, around 1 in 4 voters in Hampton Roads and Richmond think traffic congestion and dangerous driving conditions on I-81 are not a priority for the rest of the state. Similarly, 1 in 4 voters in Northern Virginia, Richmond, and the Roanoke area think traffic congestion in Hampton Roads is not a priority for the rest of the state. Finally, 1 in 4 voters in Richmond and Roanoke think traffic congestion in Northern Virginia is not a priority for the rest of the state. “Parochial views on important infrastructure and economic development issues such as these are bad news for Virginia. The more Virginians see these issues in an ‘us vs. them’ light, the more difficult it will be to adequately address them. It simply becomes more difficult for the state’s leaders to solve regional problems that have state-wide impact when people don’t view them as collective problems,” said Kidd.
“As you may be aware, different parts of Virginia face different challenges and problems. Tell me if, in your opinion, each of the following is a Critical Problem, the state legislature should make a top priority, an Important Problem the legislature should consider after other priorities, or Not A Top Priority problem the rest of the state should worry about.” |
“The high unemployment rate in Southwest and Southside Virginia.” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Critical top priority |
30 |
19 |
27 |
36 |
52 |
38 |
37 |
21 |
34 |
|
Important after other priorities |
49 |
55 |
48 |
47 |
34 |
55 |
49 |
50 |
48 |
|
Not priority for rest of state |
16 |
19 |
21 |
15 |
11 |
4 |
8 |
25 |
15 |
|
Don’t Know |
4 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
“Traffic congestion and dangerous driving conditions on I-81 that runs through the western part of the state including the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia.” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/ DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke / SW |
Valley/ C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Critical top priority |
19 |
27 |
22 |
26 |
41 |
49 |
29 |
27 |
32 |
|
Important after other priorities |
44 |
49 |
42 |
41 |
39 |
43 |
50 |
48 |
40 |
|
Not priority for rest of state |
21 |
18 |
28 |
27 |
15 |
8 |
16 |
21 |
21 |
|
Don’t Know |
6 |
6 |
9 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
7 |
|
“Traffic congestion problems with the tunnel and bridge system in the Hampton Roads area.” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Critical top priority |
32 |
18 |
65 |
38 |
17 |
21 |
34 |
36 |
31 |
|
Important after other priorities |
34 |
41 |
22 |
35 |
29 |
41 |
36 |
32 |
34 |
|
Not priority for rest of state |
21 |
25 |
13 |
22 |
25 |
14 |
18 |
22 |
20 |
|
Don’t Know |
13 |
16 |
0 |
5 |
29 |
24 |
13 |
10 |
14 |
|
“Traffic congestion problems in the Northern Virginia area.” (cells = %) |
||||||||||
|
NoVA/DC |
Norfolk |
Richmond |
Roanoke/SW |
Valley/C’ville |
Dem |
Rep |
Ind |
||
Critical top priority |
47 |
65 |
41 |
43 |
28 |
29 |
56 |
43 |
47 |
|
Important after other priorities |
30 |
26 |
36 |
29 |
30 |
42 |
27 |
35 |
27 |
|
Not priority for rest of state |
17 |
9 |
15 |
23 |
27 |
19 |
12 |
19 |
17 |
|
Don’t Know |
6 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
15 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
|
Releases to Come
October 17: US Senate Race
October 23: Right Direction/Wrong Direction of State, Assessment of Local and State Economy, and Job Performance of Governor and General Assembly
Survey Methodology
The Virginia Poll is provided as a public service to the citizens of Virginia. It is an omnibus public opinion survey of registered Virginia voters conducted by telephone between September 27 and October 1, 2007. Results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7% at the 95% confidence level. The poll was designed by the Center for Public Policy at CNU and conducted by FrederickPolls, LLC of Arlington, Virginia. For information or requests, contact Dr. Quentin Kidd, at (757) 594-7971 or qkidd@cnu.edu.
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Luter School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.