New on-line survey asks motorists
to vote for 5 most congested roads
(Trenton) - Where are your five worst traffic nightmares in New Jersey? How often does your daily commute stress you out? What steps do you take to make your commute more tolerable?
These and other questions are posed to motorists in a new on-line survey by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to gather New Jersey-specific perceptions of what constitutes congestion and where the worst traffic is to be found. Motorists are asked to share their experiences driving to work, to shopping malls and to the Shore.
“We have national measures for what constitutes congestion, but New Jersey is a unique environment and we want to find out how our motorists perceive the problem,” said Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. “Rather than assume the answers are obvious, we prefer that motorists share their experiences first hand. Using the results will help us prioritize where we target funding for congestion relief projects and provide valuable data as we fight sprawl under Governor McGreevey’s Smart Growth policy.”
The survey is being conducted for the DOT by NJIT’s National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity (NCTIP). Motorists can take part in the survey by logging onto the NJIT website at: http://transportation.njit.edu/survey/surveyintro.htm.
The survey asks motorists how far they commute, how long the drive takes and what factors they take into account in planning their route, such as minimizing time, distance or cost, and avoiding stoplights or freeways. The survey asks motorists to list up to five locations in New Jersey where they consistently encounter congestion and at what time of day.
Participants are then asked to view six videos of traffic conditions at signalized intersections and on freeways, and offer their perceptions of how congested each area was.
The survey concludes with a series of questions asking how often motorists experience stress while driving to work, to shopping or the Shore, and whether their stress levels while driving have been on the rise. They are offered a choice of irritants, such as motorists who drive too aggressively or too slowly, accidents or highway construction sites.
The entire survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
The NJIT Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity is one of four University Transportation Centers that were designated nationally by Congress under the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and reauthorized in 1998 under the Transportation Efficiency Act (TEA-21). The purpose of NCTIP is to find ways to increase industrial productivity through transportation improvements.
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