4.6. SR 05-21-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Summary of KeF Findings bv the 5 Topic Areas: I. Attitudes Associated with Congestion A majority of respondents View congestion challenges as man.cable problems responsive to current and future Mn/DOT intervention. Equal numbers of respondents view current public bus transportation and potential long-term alternative transportation options (light rail and commuter rail) as meaningful forces capable of lessening future levels of congestion on area roadways. A majority (2/3rds) of respondents agreed with all 11 statements, with the strongest agreement levels below: -- Finding strategies to reduce traffic congestion should be a focus area for'the leg/slature (89%) Drivers have to take responsibility for the growing congestion in MN (84%) I have high confidence in Mn/DOT's ability to find strategies to deal with the foreseen growth in traffic congest/on (79%) Twenty percent of statewide respondents (1 in 5) are attitudinally pessimistic to possibilities for improvement and change ia congestion levels. They are in agreement with the statement 'little if anything can be done to reduce current levels of congestion'. This pessimism is not linked to confidence in or assessment of Mn/DOT's'perforce. IL Belief in Predicted Growth of Congestion Two statements were read. rando.mly to half (each) of the total sample, in order to 'assess whether the public is. aware of the increase that is being predicted for current congestion levels. ' Ninety-one percent of all respondents said the following statements were believable. [Long Version] The amount of traffic in the state is growing about 4°4per year, which means that since 1990 until today, over the past ten years the amount of traffc has increased more than 50% in the state. At the same time, it means that within the next ten years, by 2010 we can expect that the amount of traffic will also increase more than 50% This means by the year, 2010, tra-~c will be more than 100% greater than what it was in 1990. [Short Version] The traffic volume in the state is growing by 4%every year, which means traffic increases by more than 50% every ten years. Respondents expressing low believability in the statements, as a group, had less confidence in Mn/DOT's congest/on-related abilities than respondents who viewed the message as very credible. Respondents that expressed disbelief in the congestion statement were also more likely to hold the opinion that congestion has stayed about the same during the past five years. CONGF2NTI()N Sl'~ 'DV 20()() ,' 4