FLAGSTAFF — A survey of City and County residents revealed strong support for climate action with 94% acknowledging that climate change is happening and 74% agreeing it needs to be addressed. Greater Flagstaff MetroPlan conducted the random sample survey in November 2021 as part of Stride Forward a regional transportation planning effort with an October 2022 completion date. 412 City residents and 262 County residents in areas like Ft. Valley, Doney Park and Kachina Village participated.
“Every day, transportation shapes our lives in important ways and profoundly affects our planet. Our residents are ready to find solutions to our biggest problems. That’s why MetroPlan is bringing Northern Arizona communities together to build our region’s long-term transportation plan, Stride Forward. This plan will direct our transportation investments for the next 20 years,” said Jim McCarthy, MetroPlan Executive Board Chairman and Flagstaff City Councilmember. Transportation contributes 40% of area greenhouse gas emissions, the largest source per Flagstaff’s Carbon Neutrality Plan. To address that, the plan also calls for keeping the amount of travel by cars to 2019 levels. Stride Forward is MetroPlan’s commitment to examining a variety of transportation projects and strategies to reach that goal.
The survey also reports on transportation use and values. For seven attributes, those who drive rated these highly: Necessity (8.8/10), Saving time (8.6/10), and Safety (7.3/10). In contrast, bicyclists rated Enjoyable (8.2/10), Environmentally Friendly (8.0/10), and Cost (7.8/10) the highest. Walking, otherwise similar to bicycling, rated Personal Health very high. Public Transit averaged a high 7.6/10 across all attributes with bicycling next at 7.0.
A strong desire to change how they travel in the future was also revealed by survey respondents. The figure below indicates a desire to decrease travel by car 26% with strong shifts to biking, transit and walking.
MetroPlan Executive Director Jeff “Miles” Meilbeck explained, “MetroPlan will use these results and robust public involvement to fashion future scenarios and evaluate them. When everyone is included, we’ll come up with the best, most sustainable solutions – together. We want to inform our decision-makers how well these scenarios meet the mobility needs of our community and how well they meet carbon neutrality expectations.”
The survey also asked residents about satisfaction with the transportation system, how transportation rates against other values like good schools, and the type of community in which people prefer to live. The survey report compares the differences between City and County responses. The telephone survey returned a sampling error of 3.9% for the entire region, 4.9% for the City and 6.2% for the County at a 95% confidence level.
Readers may visit www.metroplanflg.org/strideforward to review the survey report, learn more about MetroPlan, transportation in the region, and how you can participate in Stride Forward. Or for more information, contact David Wessel, MetroPlan Planning Manager, at david.wessel@metroplanflg.org.