Survey: Tigard residents prefer widening 99W to adding MAX
Nearly eight out of 10 residents said they were satisfied with
If Tigard residents had their druthers, they’d rather widen Pacific Highway than add a TriMet MAX line to the area.
At least, that’s what a new survey commissioned by the city of Tigard seems to show.
The findings are part of the city’s Community Attitudes Survey, which the city commissions every two years in order to gauge how residents feel about their neighborhoods and their city.
Of the 400 Tigard residents interviewed, 34 percent would prefer seeing Highway 99W widened to seven lanes, in order to improve congestion within the city, and 20 percent would like to see a TriMet light rail system come to the city.
“Of course, that’s without any price tag attached,” said Kelly Middendorff, vice president of project management for Moore Information, who conducted the survey. “If we were to poll again and attach how much these projects might cost, that might alter their answers a bit.”
This was the first year that questions about congestion and traffic improvements have been placed on the survey.
“If 99W is the big concern that people have, then they should be very pleased with what we do in the next few years,” said Mayor Craig Dirksen. “We have several projects in the works to help improve congestion along 99.”
Middendorff said that while congestion was the number one focus of concern among Tigard residents, congestion is universally a concern no matter what city a person lives in.
“The larger your city, the more congestion problems you’ll have,” she said.
The survey’s other findings showed that residents are satisfied with living in Tigard, rating their experience at an average of 7.8 out of 10.
Fifty-six percent of those polled believed that city’s future growth should not take place in already densely populated areas, saying that they would prefer new residents live in as-yet undeveloped neighborhoods, or along transportation routes.
“It’s the ‘not in my backyard’ defense,” Middendorff said. “That’s a common sentiment that we find in many cities.”
Throughout the survey, the city polled higher or the same as the last survey, taken in 2007.
“We’re pleased by the outcome of this survey,” Dirksen said. “We’re doing the right kinds of things, and we’re continuing in the right directions.”