Your Way for the Highways?

What do you think of California’s freeways and highways? Would you like to vent about signs, congestion, potholes?

Inquiring minds at the California Department of Transportation want to know.

From now until Jan. 5, Caltrans is conducting its first Internet survey to gauge public opinion on how well the department is taking care of the state’s 15,234-mile highway system, and what else it should do.

“The data we gather will guide us so we know where to devote our resources,” said David Anderson, a Caltrans spokesman. “Do we need to devote more money to safety issues? To fix more potholes? We want to know what Californians think.”

In the past, Caltrans conducted telephone surveys. But in these lean budget times, the agency opted for something cheaper.

Caltrans’ effort is part of a larger trend among transportation officials across the country to be more receptive to public opinion, and a cyber-suggestion box is often viewed as a helpful tool.

“As long as you get enough [respondents] ... as far as we’re concerned, it’s a viable way of doing business,” said Jennifer Gavin, spokeswoman for the American Assn. of State and Highway Transportation Officials.

“It’s a way to throw out a wide net.”

Caltrans’ 35-question poll asks drivers for their ZIP Code and the highway they travel the most. People are asked to grade Caltrans’ performance in a number of areas of highway maintenance. Some questions seek to determine what Caltrans’ top priorities should be.

The options include fixing potholes, replacing signs, maintaining pavement markings, picking up trash, taking care of landscaping, removing graffiti, removing ice and snow, and clearing accidents. You get to vote for the top three.

A few questions give space for write-in responses. Such questions include: What do you think causes traffic congestion, and if you don’t use highway rest areas, why not?

One expert who filled out the survey said Caltrans could have done more to fine-tune its presentation, and ask more important policy questions.

“It is somewhat an amateurish effort,” said James Moore II, chairman of the department of industrial and systems engineering and director of the transportation engineering program at USC, who also teaches courses on survey design.

“There’s much more they could be asking -- they could ask respondents to opt in to a more detailed survey. I would ask ... would you use a toll road? Should there be more HOV [carpool] lanes? Should freeways be wider?” Moore said.

“My sense of the survey is ... they want to be able to say, ‘We put our money where people want us to.’ With a little more practice, they could be more sophisticated about it. “

But some say that as long as state officials understand the survey’s limitations, it can be a good management tool.

“To the extent that they’re trying to get feedback on what they’re doing, that’s a good thing,” said Stephen Finnegan, transportation policy manager for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The survey, in English and Spanish, is available at www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/ external_survey.

Caltrans plans to tabulate and publicize the results in 2005.