Transit Just As Important As Roads In Calgary's Future Transportation Priorities

Calgary, AB - With transportation atop Calgarians' list of important issues, a new Ipsos Reid/Calgary Herald poll finds that the number one transportation issue Calgarians would like addressed is public transit, with 39% of Calgarians identifying `more transit' as a top priority for The City. A quarter (24%) of Calgarians point to `wider roads and bigger interchanges' as a top transportation priority they would like addressed, while 22% mention `building a ring road'. In comparison to transit, roads/interchanges, and a ring road, other transportation issues rank lower in importance, including `greater development of a pathway system for walking, bikes, and scooters' (7%), and `mandatory car-pooling' (6%).

The majority of Calgarians not only point to a need for more public transit, but also indicate they would like to see The City increase spending in this area. In all, 80% of Calgarians say they would support The City increasing spending on `transit'. There is also a high level of support (78%) for increased spending on `roads'.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Calgary Herald between September 2nd and September 7th, 2005 (no fielding on Labour Day). The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 500 adult Calgarians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Calgary been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Calgarian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Public Transit (39%), Roads/Interchanges (24%), And Ring Road (22%) Are Calgarians' Top Transportation Priorities

When presented with a list of transportation issues and asked to identify the one that they think should be a top priority for The City, four-in-ten (39%) Calgarians point to `more transit'. Following the issue of transit, Calgarians would also like to see The City focus its attention on the area's road system, with 24% identifying `wider roads and bigger interchanges' as a top priority for The City and 22% pointing to `building a ring road'.

In comparison to transit, roads/interchanges, and a ring road, other transportation issues rank lower in importance in the eyes of Calgarians. For example, only 7% of City residents say `greater development of a pathway system for walking, bikes, and scooters' should be the top priority for The City, and 6% say this about `mandatory car-pooling'.

• `Building a ring road' is more important to those aged 35 to 54 (26%) and to those who are 55 plus (31%) than it is to 18 to 34 year olds (12%).
• Both younger (18 to 34) and older (55 plus) residents place more priority on `mandatory car-pooling' (9% and 7%, respectively) than do 35 to 54 year olds (2%).
• However, 35 to 54 year olds are more likely to say `wider roads and bigger interchanges' should be a top priority for The City (28%, compared to 17% of those aged 55 plus).
• Calgarians living in the Southwest are more likely to point to `more transit' as a top priority (52%) than are those living elsewhere in The City (29% in the Southeast, 34% in the Northwest, and 34% in the Northeast).
• Meanwhile, Calgarians living in the Northeast are more likely to point to `wider roads and bigger interchanges' as a top priority (30%, compared to 18% of those in the Southwest).
• Calgarians who have lived in The City for a shorter period of time are more likely to identify `more transit' as a top priority for The City (45%, compared to 33% of those who have lived in the area for more than 30 years).
• On the other hand, those who have lived in The City for more than 30 years are more likely to point to `building a ring road' as a top priority (32%, compared to 14% of those who have lived in the area for 10 years or less).
• Renters are more likely than homeowners to identify `more transit' (47% vs. 35%) and `greater development of a pathway system for walking, bikes, and scooters' (13% vs. 6%) as top priorities for The City.
• Calgarians who typically take transit to work or school are more likely than those who drive to point to `more transit' as a top priority for The City (58% vs. 32%).
• On the other hand, drivers are more likely than transit users to identify `wider roads and bigger interchanges' as a priority (30%, compared to 17% of those who take transit).

Strong Support For Increased Spending On Both Transit (80%) And Roads (78%)

Calgarians demonstrate a high level of support for The City increasing spending on transportation improvements. In all, 80% of City residents support increased spending on `transit', including 45% saying `strongly support' and 35% saying `somewhat support'. In comparison, the level of opposition is much lower, standing at only 17% (7% `strongly oppose' and 10% `somewhat oppose').

Similarly, the majority of Calgarians (78%) would also support The City increasing spending on `roads'. In this case, 40% say `strongly support' and 38% say `somewhat support'. Again, very few Calgarians are opposed to increasing the amount spent on `roads' (21% overall, including 6% saying `strongly oppose' and 15% saying `somewhat oppose').

• Calgarians who use public transit (even those who use it as little as a few times a year) are more likely to support increased spending on `transit' than are those who never use public transit. In all, 84% of frequent public transit users (defined as those who use transit at least twice a week) and 82% of infrequent users (defined as those who use transit at least a few times a year) are supportive of this idea, compared to just 70% of those who never use public transit.
• On the other hand, those who never use public transit are more likely than transit users to support increased spending on `roads' (87%, compared to 79% of frequent transit users and 74% of infrequent transit users).

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Peter Weylie
Vice-President
Ipsos Reid Corporation
403.390.7052
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
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