2019 Traveler Opinion Survey Has Three Items Regarding Police Enforcement Campaigns
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2019 Illinois Traveler Opinion Survey Report prepared by the Survey Research Office, Center for State Policy & Leadership at University of Illinois Springfield for the Illinois Department of Transportation April 27, 2020 Table of Contents Project Overview ............................................................................................................................. 3 Key Findings .................................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 7 Demographics .................................................................................................................................. 8 Section I. Roads and Highways ........................................................................................................ 9 Road repair and construction - Rebuild Illinois ................................................................... 12 Section II. IDOT Projects .............................................................................................................. 14 Support for capital improvement projects ............................................................................. 14 Section III. Passenger rail and public transportation ....................................................................... 15 Support and use of Amtrak ..................................................................................................... 15 Mass transit/public transportation ........................................................................................ 16 Section IV. Commuting ................................................................................................................. 18 Section V. Traveler services ............................................................................................................ 21 Rest areas ................................................................................................................................. 21 Websites ................................................................................................................................... 22 Mobile device behavior ........................................................................................................... 24 Perception of risk ..................................................................................................................... 28 Passenger intervention ............................................................................................................ 28 Others’ driving behaviors ........................................................................................................ 30 Likelihood of being stopped by police .................................................................................. 32 Section VII. Media Awareness........................................................................................................ 34 Enforcement campaigns ......................................................................................................... 34 Awareness of slogans .............................................................................................................. 35 Section VIII. Rating IDOT ............................................................................................................ 37 Rating IDOT employees ......................................................................................................... 39 Appendix A. ................................................................................................................................... 40 Appendix B. Open-ended responses .............................................................................................. 60 Page | 2 Project Overview The 2019 Illinois Traveler Opinion Survey is the most recent iteration in a long-running project conducted by the University of Illinois Springfield’s Survey Research Office for IDOT dating back to 2001.1 The project methodology has changed considerably during that time. For instance, the survey was exclusively an address-based mail survey with a web response option until 2015. In 2015, the survey used the same address-based methodology with a telephone component to increase response rates. In 2016, the office worked with IDOT to transition the survey exclusively to an online panel and, in 2017, included an “opt-in” response approach that allowed anyone to participate in the survey in addition to an online panel. In 2018, the survey was made purely an opt- in survey that relied on IDOT advertising to generate responses. The 2019 methodology combines an online opt-in response approach with an online panel to increase the representativeness of the survey to the population of the state of Illinois, similar to the approach used in 2017. The project has changed over the years due to challenges facing the wider field of survey research. While these challenges are too numerous to list, both coverage bias (the extent to which a sample adequately covers the target population) and nonresponse bias (the extent to which survey respondents differ from those who chose not to participate) necessitated using different strategies. Thus, initially designed as a mail survey, the survey has, in recent years, shifted to other modes to help address these challenges. The 2019 Illinois Traveler Opinion Survey uses an online opt-in and panel design that relies on post- stratification adjustments, or “weighting,” to increase the representativeness of the survey. A total of 2,985 respondents participated in the survey. Responses from identical IP address were removed as only one person per household was asked to complete the survey. Because the survey was conducted online, with a nonprobability sample, it is not advisable to report a traditional margin of error estimate of uncertainty, but for all respondents the credible interval is plus or minus 2.5. While a margin of error is often used to express uncertainty in polling, for nonprobability surveys, such as panels and opt-in ones utilized here, credibility intervals are the best option to measure the accuracy of the survey. When examining subgroups, the credibility interval will, of course, increase.2 1 Prior to 2015, the survey was known as the Illinois Motorist Opinion Survey. 2 For more information on credible intervals please see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6630113/ Page | 3 Key Findings Roads and highways rated more positively by respondents in 2019 When asked about nine aspects of Illinois roads, the percent of respondents choosing “good” or “very good” increased from 2018 for eight of the nine aspects. The two areas that had the largest increase in 2019 are the “timing of traffic signals,” which saw an increase from 50% to 62%, and “roadside lighting and reflectors,” which increased from 48% to 58%. Respondents support the budget for the Rebuild Illinois program A majority of respondents (52%) feel the $33.2 billion budget for the Rebuild Illinois program is “about right,” while another 26% feel the budget could be even larger. This sentiment is consistent with findings from past surveys where majorities of respondents reported the state needs to focus on repairing and upgrading aging and deteriorating roads and bridges. Support for Amtrak passenger rail is high, highest among users who only ride Amtrak rarely A large majority (91%) of respondents indicate they either “strongly” or “somewhat” support Amtrak passenger service in Illinois. For those who use the train service “very” or “somewhat often,” there is slightly stronger support at 93%. However, those who use Amtrak only rarely are the most supportive at 97%. Support for IDOT’s contributions to public transportation are high across the state A substantial majority (88%) of respondents either “strongly” or “somewhat” support IDOT contributions to the building, maintenance, and operation of public transportation systems in Illinois. Additionally, those living in Chicago (93%) and the Chicago suburbs (89%) are far more likely to “strongly support” or “somewhat support” IDOT’s contributions to public transport than those living elsewhere in Illinois (83%). Respondents unified in belief that highways and bridges need repairs and upgrading When asked to select up to three capital improvement projects from a list of seven, 82% of respondents selected “repair/upgrade aging and deteriorating roads and bridges.” This finding has never been below 80% since 2016 and has been as high as 91% in 2018. Most respondents commute by car, though less do so in Chicago Of the nearly six in ten (59%) respondents who report commuting to work, nearly eight in ten (79%) say they use a car or personal vehicle to get to work. This varies considerably by location: just 53% of Chicago residents say they use a car to get to work regularly compared to 89% of those in suburban Chicago and 94% of those from elsewhere in the state. The cleanliness and safety of rest areas in Illinois rated more positively by respondents than in 2018 The positive rate for cleanliness of rest areas increased from 75% in 2018 to 83% for 2019. Likewise, respondent views of the safety of rest areas also saw a positive increase from 70% in 2018 to 79% in 2019. Page | 4 Respondents report finding what they were looking for at IDOT’s website at a very high rate Just over half of respondents (53%) have visited