Poll: Residents give Governor Healey, Legislature middling grades on transportation
Few feel “very safe” on highways, transit, biking; traffic is seen as worse than before COVID
When it comes to transportation, it feels like Massachusetts is stuck in neutral. Massachusetts residents give the Governor and the State Legislature only middling grades for their handling of transportation in the Commonwealth. Residents are concerned about the state of the existing public transportation network, likely driven by successive problems at the MBTA. Traffic is back and now seen as worse than before COVID. And few residents say they feel “very safe” on the state’s roads and rails, driven largely by the behavior of other drivers and riders.
Those are some of the major findings from a new poll of 1,390 Massachusetts residents conducted by The MassINC Polling Group and sponsored by The Barr Foundation. The survey includes oversamples of residents who identify as Black, Latino, and Asian American or Pacific Islander to allow for finer-grained analysis of opinion within these subgroups.
Grading Beacon Hill on Transportation
Pluralities give both Governor Healey and the State Legislature Cs, with the rest split between higher and lower grades. A third (32%) give Healey a C for her handling of transportation, more than give her a B (23%) or A (7%). On the MBTA, about as many give Healey a D (17%) or an F (13%) as give her an A (6%) or B (24%). Grades for the Legislature were even harsher. Only a quarter give the General Court an A (5%) or B (20%) for their role approving funding for the state’s transportation system; 27% give them a D (20%) or F (17%).
Many of the negative stories about the MBTA predate the current administration, but it appears residents are not cutting the current governor much slack for that. The state of the T and other public transit systems is the top transportation issue cited by residents, followed by traffic congestion and road conditions. Priorities do vary by region, with public transit dominant in Greater Boston and traffic and road conditions top of mind farther from Boston. A quarter (23%) in Western Massachusetts want to see expanded public transit, including East-West Rail and expanded bus service.
Few feel “very safe” on the roads and rails, largely because of other travelers’ behavior
Another factor weighing on residents’ minds is safety. While most users of each type of transportation feel at least somewhat safe, few feel “very safe”, particularly while driving on the state’s highways, taking public transit, and riding a bike. Infrastructure issues have received much attention and are driving some concern, but the most commonly cited reasons for feeling unsafe have to do with the behavior of other travelers.
Among those who feel unsafe driving, three of the top four reasons concerned driver behavior: reckless or speeding drivers (82%), drivers distracted by their phones (77%), and road rage (61%). Those who feel unsafe riding a bike are also worried about speeding and reckless drivers (72%) and distracted driving (69%). Transit riders who feel unsafe cite crime and violence as their top concern (71%), followed by overcrowding (54%) and old or broken transit vehicles or stations (43% each). Pedestrians who feel unsafe are most concerned about crime (65%), followed by distracted (55%) and reckless drivers (54%).
The survey oversampled residents who identify as Black. Latino and Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI), who tend to have more positive opinions on many questions. Black, Latino, and AAPI residents give Governor Healey and the Legislature higher grades on transportation and feel safer on most modes of transportation. But there was one notable exception: Only 26% of Black residents feel “very safe” walking around their community, lower than white (40%) Latino (38%) and AAPI residents (44%). About two-thirds (68%) of Black pedestrians who feel unsafe cite distracted drivers as a cause for their concern.
Traffic is seen as worse than to pre-pandemic levels
The return of traffic after the pandemic is also weighing on residents’ impression of transportation in the state. Overall, 52% think traffic in their part of the state is worse than it was before the COVID pandemic. Another 37% think it’s about the same – not great given that traffic was reaching a breaking point back in 2019. Just 7% think traffic has improved since COVID. Residents within Route 495 are most likely to think traffic has gotten worse.
Traffic is getting worse despite a third of workers reporting they are working from home every day (14%) or a few times a week (20%). Most commuters (83%) report driving at least part of their trips, with transit use largely concentrated within Route 128. Even in this region closest to Boston, more workers report their work offers free parking (46%) than free or discounted transit passes (32%).
Transportation is also a factor for residents who are not currently employed. A majority (61%) of those unemployed residents who are seeking work say that transportation is at least a minor obstacle to their finding a job.
Majority support real estate transfer fee
Housing costs have surged to the top of residents’ priority lists, and residents express support for at least one proposed action to address the issue. A majority (58%) support Governor Healey’s proposal to let cities and towns impose a transfer fee on the portion of real estate sales over $1 million and use the proceeds for affordable housing. The proposal is particularly popular among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 75% of whom support the idea.
About the poll
These results are based on a survey of 1,390 Massachusetts residents. Oversamples were conducted to obtain a total of 204 Black, 197 Latino, and 151 Asian residents. Responses were collected by online survey and live interviews via landline and cell phones October 23 – November 6, 2023. Results within race and ethnicity were weighted by age, gender, and education level. These were then combined and weighted by race, age, gender, education, geography, and political identification to reflect known and estimated population parameters for the adult population of Massachusetts. The credibility interval for this survey is +/- 3.0 percentage points for the entire sample, including the design effect. This project was conducted by The MassINC Polling Group and sponsored by The Barr Foundation.