A recent telephone poll of Portland citizens asked what types of transportation investments they prioritize for the city. The top two responses both include “safe.”
Jarrett Walker shares the results of the poll, which was conducted by DHM Research for the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Among Walker’s observations of the poll results:
“Frequent bus service (slashed in 2009 with major ridership losses resulting) is the top transit service priority, closely followed by more (probably more frequent*) light rail service.”
Moreover, although Portland is often held up as the model of economic development via streetcar, many Portlanders are less than enamored with that mode of transportation: “Less than 40% of Portlanders would assign any priority to expanding the streetcar system further, and only 9% call it a top priority.”
The top two responses of the survey? “Safe pedestrian crossings” and “safety around schools.”
FULL STORY: portland: the citizens' priorities for transportation

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