Traffic Called No. 1 Worry in San Gabriel Valley Poll

As the San Gabriel Valley rapidly shifts toward a Latino and Asian majority, residents rank traffic, pollution and waste disposal as their most pressing concerns, while their fear of violent crime is low, according to a study released Thursday.

More than 87% of the 1,350 people polled said traffic is getting worse. Sixty-seven percent said smog is still a major problem, and 61% were worried about the quality of drinking water.

“What struck me was the intensity with which people view traffic problems,” said Alan Heslop, who conducted the study. “Crime is being displaced by traffic as the biggest concern.”

The first-ever study was presented at Claremont McKenna College by the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership to guide local political and business leaders in making policy decisions. Researchers conducted telephone interviews and plan to continue the survey every year to monitor trends.

Of those interviewed in English or Spanish, 51% were white, 13% were Asian and 28% were Latino.

General views on life in the valley were upbeat, said Heslop, director of the college’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government.

More than three-quarters of those interviewed said they were optimistic about the future of their city and content with the quality of life.

Heslop said 77% of the respondents thought that their city government was doing a good or excellent job. A strong majority considered education the most important issue in the last election, while most gave public schools a good rating.

The presentation Thursday was attended by leaders from some of the valley’s 30 cities and nine unincorporated areas.

“I’m going to go back and study this and see which issues are appropriate to us,” said Algird Leiga, president of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and a Claremont city councilman.

Leiga thought public transportation was the most relevant issue to his city. At a time when politicians endlessly pitch the merits of rail and bus systems, 94% of respondents said they seldom, if ever, use public transportation. And though they complained about their commutes, only a fraction were willing to pay taxes to improve buses or Metrolink.

“What this says is there is a desperate need to look at untried solutions,” Heslop said.

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What taxpayers are willing to pay for, according to the study, is clean water, more police, improved streets and freeways.

Heslop said he found that most people would pay $3 a week to have their trash hauled by rail out of the valley. They were concerned about the air and water pollution caused by local landfills. They care much less about cleaning graffiti.

The study touched on many topics, including concerns about potential year 2000 computer problems and other controversial issues.

An overwhelming number of residents were not familiar with the Alameda Corridor, the massive rail project under construction in Los Angeles that will eventually traverse the valley. When told during the interviews of the traffic tie-ups it might cause, most were worried.

One of the findings that perhaps most signals the area’s changing demographics is that 46% of those polled said immigration has been good for the San Gabriel Valley, while only 36% said it hadn’t.

“There has been more ethnic change over a shorter period of time here than in any other place in the nation with the possible exception of South-Central Los Angeles,” Heslop said.

Heslop also said the number of liberals has grown dramatically in what had been a conservative stronghold.

The Rose Institute will release a special report on the valley’s Latino population in February and one on Asians in March.

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San Gabriel Valley Survey

The following are some of the questions that 1,350 San Gabriel Valley residents were asked in a telephone survey between Nov. 25 and Dec. 7,1998.

How worried are you that you or a member of your family will be a victim of a violent crime?

Not worried: 37%

A little worried: 25%

Somewhat worried: 20%

Very worried: 16%

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Do you feel that you and your family are financially better off or worse off today than you were a year ago?

Better off: 37%

Same: 45%

Worse off: 16%

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When you were casting your vote on Nov. 3, which of the following issues was most important to you?

Education: 47%

Economy: 34%

Crime: 28%

Taxes: 23%

Abortion: 16%

President Clinton: 15%

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How worried are you about possible problems affecting computers as the year 2000 approaches?

Not worried: 45%

A little worried: 19%

Somewhat worried: 14%

Very worried: 9%

Don’t know: 13%

Source: Claremont McKenna College