The area surveyed included residents in Kleburg, Nueces and San Patricio counties.
A recent survey of three Coastal Bend Counties gauged residential attitudes toward roads, water, industry, politics and more. Commissioned by Port Industries of Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, the survey revealed that Corpus Christi residents want better roads without raising taxes. They are also concerned about future water supplies, and are more willing to tolerate tax increases to insure a quality water supply than better roads.
A sample size of 705 adult residents in Nueces, Kleburg and San Patricio counties was called between Sept. 10-17 by pollsters from Harris, DeVille & Associates and Southern Media and Opinion Research. It was the 14th such survey done over the last 20 years.
Though all three counties followed the same patterns, Nueces County percentages showed stronger opinions across the board.
All agreed the condition of area roads was the biggest issue. In Corpus Christi, 41 percent surveyed named roads as the biggest issue, with 34 percent calling the situation a crisis. Thirteen percent cited politics as a problem with 8 percent naming crime/drugs/gangs and 7 percent jobs and the economy.
Along with the crisis in road repair, 15 percent felt the water situation was in crisis mode, while 13 percent said taxes.
When asked how best to solve the road issue, 79 percent said to improve the quality of existing roads, while 35 percent said to build more roads. Other suggestions were to improve traffic signals, provide stricter enforcement of traffic laws and add more turn lanes.
Whether or not there was enough money in the budget to pay for these ideas split down the middle, 42 percent yes to 42 percent now. When asked if willing to pay more taxes, respondents said no by 54 percent, although 92 percent said they would pay $1 more a month for better roads.
When it came to water, 61 percent were willing to pay more in taxes. That number drops considerably — to 38 percent — when asked to pay more taxes for both better water and roads. Water wins again when asked to pick between the two.
A majority of the population (statistically) feel positive about the economy in the region, a dramatic turn around from the results of the same question 15 years ago. At that time, just over 50 percent felt good about the economy. That percentage is almost 90 percent now.
For more details and charts, visit cbbep.org for the full report.
