Poll finds public transit overriding issue

Source: The Detroit News
By: Mike Wilkinson
Published: April 21, 2007

Group's online survey says Metro Detroiters want to eat, shop without cars; race poll under way.

Metro Detroiters love the area's concerts and art venues and relish its restaurants and grocers.

But a recent survey of more than 1,000 area residents showed they would really like the opportunity to get to those places without using their cars.

The online poll conducted by Issue Media Group and United Way for Southeastern Michigan shows four out of five respondents want a better rapid transit system.

"It's so clear that people are saying 'public transportation,' " said Kurt Metzger, director of research for the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and author of the survey.

Metzger created the online polls on behalf of One D, the coalition created last year to forge a comprehensive plan to tackle the area's problems. The polls will be one source of information for the group, which is focusing on six priorities: economic prosperity, education, regional transit, race relations, regional cooperation and quality of life.

A survey on race relations is under way, and more are planned on transportation, education and economic opportunities.

"Our effort is to get as much input across the board on all of these areas," said Anne Masterson, a spokeswoman for Detroit Renaissance, a coalition partner.

The quality-of-life poll touched on a number of topics, from public transportation to crime. It was advertised on a local Internet magazine and through the United Way. But its relevance may be limited: Just 5 percent of the respondents are from Macomb County, and just 44 percent of the Detroiters who filled out the questionnaire are black. The city's black population is more than 80 percent.

Coalition members are more interested in the current survey on race relations, and its reach will likely be broader. The United Way is willing to mail the survey to those who cannot take it online, and it will be translated into Spanish and Arabic, said Shirley Stancato, president and CEO of New Detroit, an organization that deals with race issues.

New Detroit has held a summit on race among area leaders. But Stancato said the poll will allow them to find out what people think about "in the privacy of their homes."

"I think it's important to know what people are thinking," she said.

Many have said race relations in the region, the most segregated in the country, must improve.

"I think race relations are so critical and cuts across this region in so many ways that everyone has an opinion," Metzger said.

One reason One D chose the online polls was their cost: zero. A scientific survey covering 800 people in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties could cost more than $30,000.

The race relations survey can be found at the United Way's Web site, www.uwsem.org. For a mailed copy, call (313) 226-9200.