CONTACTS:
Rick Powell 815-434-8435
TTY: 815-434-8510
FAX: 815-434-6998
NEW SURVEY: MOST RESIDENTS BELIEVE GROWTH IS INEVITABLE;
SAY ROADS SHOULD BE BUILT OR IMPROVED BEFORE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS INCREASE
OTTAWA, IL – A new public opinion survey conducted by the Illinois
Department of Transportation (IDOT) shows that 61 percent of respondents in
the primary area* of the Prairie Parkway Preliminary Engineering Study
believe that growth is inevitable and roads should be built or improved
before traffic problems increase. In the secondary study area*, 59 percent
of respondents shared this belief.
The research also showed that 67 percent disagree that building major new
roads would make traffic congestion worse. Six percent of respondents oppose
new roads because of the likelihood of bringing in too many people and
increasing traffic congestion.
The survey, conducted in late 2004, explored people’s driving habits, use
of major area roads and public transportation, their perceptions of the
severity and reasons for traffic congestion in the region, how traffic
congestion affects their lifestyles, their solutions to traffic congestion
and their environmental and quality of life concerns. On average, the 1,000
survey respondents have lived in the far southwestern Chicagoland area for
24 years.
“As IDOT researches viable transportation alternatives for this dynamic
region, public involvement continues to be a crucial component in the
Prairie Parkway study,” said Deputy Director of Highways Gregg Mounts.
“In addition to looking at data such as population, employment, traffic
and environmental impacts, the perceptions and experience of the people
who live in the study area must be included in order to reach the best
solution.”
Following are some additional findings from the new research:
Within the primary study area, 36 percent of the people
surveyed say that U.S. 34 is the most severely congested road. I-88 is
believed to be the most severely congested road in the secondary area,
named by 28 percent of respondents.
On average, area residents reported spending
29.9 minutes driving to work. Business owners reported shorter commute
times, averaging 25.2 minutes.
A majority of residents (75 percent) felt that traffic congestion will
get much worse over the next ten years.
Residents in both the primary and secondary areas most
frequently cited too much development as the biggest contributing factor
to traffic congestion, ranking it 6.9 and 6.8 respectively on a 10 point
scale.
Respondents were asked what they believe are the best
solutions to traffic congestion. The top five solutions chosen were:
Widening existing roads: 57 percent
Improving existing intersections, signals or turn
lanes: 34 percent
Better coordination and planning: 28 percent
Building other new connecting roads: 25 percent
Building new freeways or expressways: 21 percent
Respondents said they would most likely use the
following transportation options:
Other new connecting roads: 49 percent in the
primary area; 51 percent in the secondary area
New freeways or expressways: 39 percent in the
primary area; 44 percent in the secondary area
Added/Improved rail service: 23 percent in the
primary area; 44 percent in the secondary area
The respondents who said they believe that new road
construction is one solution to traffic problems were asked whether
north-south or east-west roads were most needed.
North-south: 40 percent in the primary area; 23
percent in the secondary area
East-west: 14 percent in the primary area; 21
percent in the secondary area
Both: 51 percent in the primary area; 45 percent in
the secondary area
The survey respondents were asked to rate their level of
concern over the effects of transportation improvements on a 10-point
scale. The top five concerns were:
Water quality: 8.1 points in the primary area;
7.9 points in the secondary area
Cost to taxpayers: 8.0 points in the primary
area; 7.5 points in the secondary area
Air quality: 7.9 points in both the primary and
secondary areas
Loss of parkland or natural areas: 7.4 points in
the primary area; 6.6 points in the secondary area
Loss of farmland: 7.4 in the primary area; 6.6
in the secondary area
The three top outcomes that commuters want new
transportation improvements to achieve are:
Increased safety/fewer accidents: 8.0 points (on a
10 point scale)
Improved travel time for 20 miles or more: 7.6
points
Improved local travel: 6.8 points
Respondents rate the impact of traffic congestion on
their lifestyles as generally moderate, saying it affects their access
to shopping and leisure/entertainment choices most. However, daily
commuters are significantly more likely to say that traffic congestion
places limits on their choices of employment.
Cars, trucks and SUV’s are the overwhelming
transportation mode used, with 97 percent of the respondents saying it
was their primary mode. In contrast, two percent of survey respondents
use Metra trains as their transportation.
This telephone research was conducted in October and November 2004 with
a random survey of 1,000 residents within the Prairie Parkway
Preliminary Engineering study area. The study area consists of all of
Kendall County, the southern portion of Kane County, the northern
portion of Grundy County, the western portion of Will County, and the
eastern portions of DeKalb and LaSalle Counties. Employees of IDOT,
government agencies, the road construction industry, public relations
firms, and advertising/marketing agencies were excluded from
participating in the survey. The margin of error of the telephone survey
is ±3.1 percent.
The entire research poll can be found at the Prairie Parkway Preliminary
Engineering website:
www.prairie-parkway.com.
# # #
* The primary area for the Prairie Parkway Preliminary Engineering Study
includes municipalities such as Joliet, Channahon, Minooka, Montgomery,
Morris, Aurora (60506 zip code), Big Rock, Oswego, Plano, Sandwich,
Shorewood, Sugar Grove and Yorkville.
The secondary area consists of
municipalities such as DeKalb, Elburn, St. Charles,
Aurora (60504 and 60505 zip codes), Batavia,
Marseilles, North Aurora, Plainfield, Somonauk and
Wilmington.
