A SPECIAL REPORT ON TRANSPORTATION : How The Times Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates, an Irvine-based public opinion research firm, with field work by Discovery Research Group.

The survey of 600 Orange County adults was conducted Aug. 25 through 27 on weekend days and weekday nights, using a random sample of listed and unlisted telephone numbers.

The margin of error was 4% either way. That means it is 95% certain that the results are within 4 points of what they would be if every adult Orange County resident were interviewed.

However, results also may be affected by question wording, the time of the interview and survey design. Those surveyed did not include people who live outside the county but who drive to jobs here on Orange County streets and freeways.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TIMES POLL

Future Gridlock

How much confidence do you have that local government can keep Orange County’s freeways and surface streets from reaching gridlock? Great Deal: 5% Only Some: 35% Hardly Any: 34% None: 26%

Preferred Solution to Traffic Problems

What is the single best solution for reducing traffic congestion in Orange County--expand the road system, place strict limits on growth, or increase the number of people who car-pool and use mass transit?

Expand Limit Mass Roads Growth Transit All 32% 15% 39%

By Confidence in Local Government to Prevent Gridlock

Expand Limit Mass Roads Growth Transit Great confidence 44% 4% 30% Some confidence 33 12 42 Hardly any confidence 33 19 40 No confidence 28 18 34

Support for a Sales Tax Increase

If a vote were held today, would you vote yes or no on a ballot measure to raise the local sales tax--

A: From 6% to 6 1/2% for roads--to build new freeways, widen existing freeways and improve local streets?

B: Or from 6% to 7% to build new freeways, build a rail transit system, increase buses, widen existing freeways, and improve streets?

Yes No Don’t Know A: 1/2-cent tax increase 53% 42% 5% B: 1-cent tax increase 41 54 5

Acceptance of Toll Roads

There are plans to build toll roads in Orange County. Users would pay about a dollar per one-way trip. Would you regularly use toll roads instead of freeways if they reduced your driving time?

Yes No Don’t Know All 52% 36% 12%

By Yearly Income

Yes No Don’t Know All 52% 36% 12% Under $20,000 46 41 13 $20,000-39,000 49 37 14 $40,000-59,000 46 45 9 $60,000 or more 63 26 11

The Trip to Work

How many minutes does it take you from home to work?

0-9 Mins. 10-30 Mins. 31-60 Mins. 61+ Mins. All 23% 46% 23% 8%

On a typical day, how stressful is your commute to work?

Very Somewhat Not at all All 11% 32% 57%

Have you tried these alternatives to rush-hour driving?

Have Tried Would Try Flex-time 11% 36% Four-day week 15 44 Telecommuting 10 31

Living Closer to Work Would you prefer to live closer to work?

Yes No All 38% 62%

By Commute Time

Yes No 0-9 minutes 28% 72% 10-30 minutes 38 62 31-60 minutes 46 54 61+ minutes 47 53

Traffic Conditions and Moving Preferences Do you think that traffic conditions alone could ever make you move out of Orange County or not?

Yes No All 44% 56%

Note: Some percentages may not equal 100% because of rounding.

Source: Times Orange County Poll