April 29, 2004
Survey finds budget, traffic are top regional concerns
Full
report (pdf)
Sacramento Region residents are fretting more than ever about crowded roadways,
with 67 percent saying traffic congestion is a big problem, according to a survey
by researchers at California State University, Sacramento. That’s up from
58 percent who called traffic a big problem last year.
The survey also found 56 percent of residents would vote for a measure to increase
their sales tax by a half-cent to fund transportation projects in their county.
And fully 55 percent say voters should decide how to deal with regional issues,
rather than local government (26 percent) or state government (8 percent).
The findings are from the third “Annual Survey of Public Opinion and Life
Quality in the Sacramento Region,” conducted by CSUS sociology professor
Amy Liu and more than 30 students. It covers El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and
Yolo counties.
The only issue cited more frequently than traffic as being a “big problem”
was local government budget deficits (68 percent). Among other major issues
the survey asked about, 50 percent say lack of affordable housing is a big problem,
46 percent cite the quality of public education, 46 percent cite affordable
health care, 43 percent cite air pollution, 40 percent cite urban sprawl and
23 percent cite the economy.
By county, 67 percent in El Dorado call traffic a big problem and 49 percent
would support a half cent sales tax for transportation projects; in Placer 66
percent cite traffic and 51 percent would support a tax hike; in Sacramento
69 percent cite traffic and 57 percent would support a tax hike; and in Yolo
48 percent cite traffic and 65 percent would support a tax hike.
Other findings from the survey:
The survey included
1,003 randomly selected adults in the Capital Region who were interviewed from
Feb. 7 to March 2. The margin of error is 3 percent.
The full report is available from the news release at www.csus.edu/news.
Amy Liu may be contacted at (916) 278-7572. Additional media assistance is available
from the CSUS public affairs office at (916) 278-6156.
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California State University, Sacramento Public Affairs
6000 J Street Sacramento, CA 95819-6026 (916) 278-6156 infodesk@csus.edu |