Traffic ranks as region's No. 1 issue, survey finds

WASHINGTON - Traffic/transportation ranks as the No. 1 long-term issue for area residents, according to an extensive survey conducted for the Greater Washington 2050 Coalition, a regional initiative to improve the region's quality of life.

The telephone survey of 1,313 people done by the Annapolis-based opinion research firm, OpinionWorks, looks at long-term issues, how the region rates as a place to live and taxes.

The research finds 70 percent of those interviewed have a strong connection to the region, and 59 percent cross state lines at least weekly.

According to the report being released Friday, people say the following are the top long-term issues for the region:

• Traffic/transportation
• Economy/jobs
• Education/schools
• Affordable housing
• Crime/drugs

"Transportation alternatives don't reach as many parts of the region as people might like," Sharon Bulova, chair of the coalition and of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, tells WTOP.

So how do people rate the region as a place to live?

• Excellent -- 31 percent
• Good -- 47 percent
• Fair -- 17 percent
• Poor - 5 percent

When it comes to taxes, 47 percent said taxes were too high or a little too high, while 46 percent said they found taxes to be fair.

"For the most part, we did not receive the kind of negative answer you might expect," Bulova says.

How do people perceive taxes? Here's how the numbers break down:

• Too high - 28 percent
• A little too high - 19 percent
• Fair - 46 percent
• Not sure - 5 percent

The report concludes: "Residents generally view the metropolitan Washington region as a good place to live. The region's citizens are information seekers with many connections across jurisdictional lines, and a substantial number of them are looking for more regional solutions to the area's greatest challenges."

Before conducting the phone interviews, OpinionWorks conducted focus groups in December 2008. It then conducted 12-minute interviews over the telephone with 1,313 people in February 2009. The survey has a sampling error rate of plus or minus 2.7 percent.

The aim of the Greater Washington 2050 Coalition, organized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, is to propose regional goals for public discussion.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)