Survey: WA Residents Support Transit, Transportation Investments

Here’s the survey presentation: http://www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/transportation/connect/20111129/survey_presentation.pdf

I’ve noticed that more and more “news” reports on studies, surveys and polls.  And – as we’ve seen here – many of these are put forth by agenda-ed sources.  I wonder how much better our civic discourse would be if our “press” stopped carrying water for our myriad special-interest groups.

Why would you report a survey without reporting its methodology? If you had done that, you would not have reported that this “survey” in any way represents public opinion. There was no clear attempt at a random or representative sample.

It’s a poll. Unless you can make a case that something about the questions asked or the people polled biases the results, you’re just whining that the results don’t back up your beliefs.

Without knowing the sampling methods or sample, you’re just whining that this poll actually means anything at all.

did I claim the poll “means” anything?

I’m not commenting on the validity of this particular survey.  I’m just observing that a growing number of “news” stories report on studies, surveys and polls.  And, as we’ve seen, both the survey and the report can be prejudiced and spun.  I think it is an interesting phenomenon and, personally, I would love for our “press’ to give it a rest (yes, even, those studies that “support” my beliefs).

Here is a survey done in Seattle this year for the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee III’s (CTAC III):

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/ctac/CTAC%20III%20Survey%20Summary_FINAL.pdf

People chose repairing existing streets and traffic/congestion as the two most important issues facing their neighborhoods.

They also said that increasing the license fee was the least objectionable funding source.

Yet, the increased license fee in Prop 1 failed by double digits, even though people said they preferred increased license fees to tolling, property tax increase, or sales tax increase.

Seems to me the CTAC survey pretty accurately gauged voters’ opinions and pretty accurately predicted the outcome of Prop 1.

People are always going to tell pollsters that they favor “improvements” in anything until you tell them how much it is going to cost them.

It’s amusing that in this state survey people said they liked taxes on “emissions”, but not taxes on gasoline.  How do you tax emissions, except by taxing gasoline (and deisel)?

Polls are news because they are the only way to estimate public opinion. Why would you not be interested in what the public thinks? Granted, they are easily prejudiced and spun, but they are also easily debunked. You don’t need an advanced degree to see that a poll has an agenda.

I am very strongly in favor of an investment in a corporate jet for myself and my loved ones. But I want someone else to pay for it.

“Just 46 percent said they would support increasing the state gas tax.”

The way this is presented seems odd to me.  Almost half of those surveyed said they would support increasing the gas tax.  Seems to me there is a story here.  With better education and framing, maybe we can skewer this scared ox…

Additionally, why would you tax emissions when the emissions program itself is being phased out, largely because it’s no longer needed?

People view “emissions” as dirty and therefore something to discourage. But it’s a surface reaction. The minute you put an actual mechanism out there is when you’ll find out what they actually think.

If you think you’ll get people to raise the gas tax to pay for anything other than highways, I think you’ll be sorely disappointed. Now that we’re in hard times, any tax increase will be examined with a microscope. This is especially true statewide. Once you get outside of Puget Sound, things get real tight, real fast.

correction, once outside Seattle, the rest of king county is allot less spendy.

A poll in King County showed that the $20 car tab increase for Metro bus service was opposed by KC residents.  Also, almost 2/3 of KC residents wanted that car tab increase to go to a public vote.

But the KC Council and Dow Constantine passed that car tab increase without a public vote, anway, those stupid assholes.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2011/06/27/poll-king-co-residents-dont-like-20-car-tab-hike-for-metro/

“King County residents oppose a proposed $20 car tab fee to help maintain Metro bus service, according to a new poll. ”This year, the state Legislature granted King County authority to set a temporary $20 vehicle licensing surcharge that would bring in $25 million annually for two years to shore up Metro Transit’s budget, which hurt by the slow economy. The agency faces having to cut 600,000 bus service hours over the next two years due to the recession’s hit on sales tax revenue, which is transit’s main funding source. With the car tab fee, Metro could hold off on cuts until state lawmakers come up with a more stable, longer-term solution for transit, officials say.”But a SurveyUSA/KING5 poll found that 50 percent of county residents are against the fee. Forty-three percent supported it, while 7 percent were unsure. The same sampling found that 64 percent wanted the County Council to put the car tab fee idea on a ballot for voters to decide, rather than impose it directly.”It’s still unclear whether a majority of Councilmembers would approve placing the proposed fee on the November ballot.”The survey of 500 county residents was taken June 21-22. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.”

same goes for political elections.  press just reports what candidates say, without challenging them or even fact checking.  just relating their statement as if it were fact.  

but doesn’t that poll go against this reporter’s constant insistence that Seattle is anti-transit as evidenced by the defeat of prop 1?

Oh, I’d say they know how to spend money in Bellevue, Medina, Gray’s Harbor, Bainbridge, and Friday Harbor, to name a few.

The poll has no statistical validity. Read the methodology which Erica has failed to report. The headline, a generalization about public opinon in Washington state can not be sustained by the actual poll.

“If you think you’ll get people to raise the gas tax to pay for anything
other than highways, I think you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

It’s a moot point since, in this state, the gas tax can’t be spent on anything other than highways.

the question comes down to, just how scared is the ox?

yes becuase those communities are know for their transit systems and public amenities

bottom heavy and single erica didnt report the whole story?? no way!

You right wing trolls are sure having fun.  The methodology is on the first few slides of the link Erica provides.  The poll was commissioned by the Transportation Commission for the Governor’s task force.  EMC is a well-respected polling firm.

What the poll really said is people like tolling and they like transit.  Those are good things.

That depends.  Did you know that over half the revenue collected from tolling goes to the collection agency who is out of state?  How much gas tax, or licence fee or property tax is exported to Corporate America?  This is “Highway Robbery” and all quite legal.  So you need to collect twice as much toll revenue as you need, because you only get half of it back.
Which leads to my next point.  Most of the money for our shopping list of Mega-Projects goes to retire the bonds we’re floating to pay for these grandiose schemes.  More money collected on behalf of the bankers and bond agents that leaves our local economy.
When you finally get down to paying for the rebar and concrete, its now pennies on the dollar of benefit.  Not worth doing the project under those circumstances, in my opinion, but the press or TC or our politicians won’t tell us those inconvenient truths.  So I’ll continue to vote NO.
Transit, via Sound Transit, is even worse at investing my taxes wisely.  Nearly a billion dollars a mile for their train to Northgate is shear folly for the actual transportation improvement it will provide.  According to PSRC congestion will be worrse when their finished.  NO THANK YOU, ANYMORE.  ST3, 4, OR …. IS DOA.  I want my money back you crooks.

We already had our official “poll” in Seatte:  Prop 1, with 50% going to transit, lost by double digits.

This is a good thing.

well yes, FP, that’s what the public sector is for. Not jets, but other public investments that no one individual can afford on their own, but that we all need.

Big Jim, if you spent less time reacting and more time learning, you could know all you wanted about the survey methodology.

It’s on slide 2 of the presentation that the article links to.

It’s not by an activist group, it’s by a survey consultant with no ties to anything transportation related.

I’ve voted for every transportation levy this town has offered up. I just hate bad reporting.  Linking the methodlology of a ppoll is not the same as reporting it. Bad, bad, bad. Erica is a good reporter but this is bad reporting that undermines her credibility.

I like how you make up arguments to shoot down. Nowhere did Bill B suggest changing what the gas tax money could be see for.

We all need a corporate jet, but I need it more. To each according to their needs, fount.