Hampton Roads Regional Survey

For

State of The Region: Public Opinion
 
 
Old Dominion University

The Social Science Research Center

Executive Summary

Overview

Hampton Roads residents viewed the Hampton Roads region as one community that meets their the daily needs of residents. Whether they travel for purposes of employment, shopping, recreation, entertainment or personal business, survey respondents report that they rely on free and open access to all parts of the region regardless of boundary lines that formally separate different jurisdictions. In light of this, respondents recognize the need for regional cooperation through joint arrangements and combining public services. This is particularly the case for mass transit where respondents report traffic congestion as a major problem. Of those who gave an opinion, respondents were evenly divided in their views as to whether Hampton Roads communities should merge into a single regional jurisdiction. Most respondents view politics and government, as well as competition among the cities and counties, as impeding regional cooperation. Most residents would vote for candidates who favor combining public services on a regional basis and agree that their elected officials should encourage formal working relations among the different Hampton Roads jurisdictions. Of those who gave an opinion, the respondents were evenly divided in their veiws as to whether several Hampton Roads cities merge into a single regional jurisdiction. Overall, three-quarters of the residents rate their city as well as the region as a good or excellent place to live. However, Though respondents report that the region and the city or county where they reside provide a high quality of life, on the negative sidethey give low ratings to such factors as cost of living, transportation and earnings.. Forty-five percent of those who view earnings as very poor report that they would move out of Hampton Roads if they had the opportunity.

The findings reported here are based on a random sample of 1,169 Hampton Roads residents interviewed by telephone between May 8 and May 24, 2000. The sampling margin of error is ± 2.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Questions focused on such matters as travel patterns, reasons for travel to different cities and counties, perceptions of regional cooperation among the different jurisdictions, perceived barriers to regional cooperation, perceptions of quality of life, and perceived constraints on the quality of life in the Hampton Roads region (see below for more details on the methodology).

Key Findings

• Survey data on travel patterns and activities of respondents show that Hampton Roads residents are as much a part of the regional community as they are of their particular city or county. Whether they travel for purposes of employment, shopping, recreation, entertainment, or personal business, respondents depend on continuing access to all parts of the Hampton Roads region irrespective of formal boundary lines.
• The inner core cities (Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton) continue to serve as the economic engine of the region as measured by the number of people accessing jobs. . MostMost jurisdictions, with the exception of the outer suburbs and Portsmouth, provide a broad range of services in meeting the needs of respondents.
• The greater number of respondents support combining public services among the different jurisdictions for the good functioning of the region. This is particularly the case for mass transit where 72% favored combining transportation services. Other services receiving strong support for some form of joint arrangement are roads and streets, social services, emergency services, libraries, recreation facilities, public parks, and economic development. Public housing and schools did not receive strong support on this question.
• On the question of merging several Hampton Roads cities into a single regional jurisdiction, 50% of the respondents approved and 50% were opposed.
• Most respondents (62%) had not heard of the Hampton Roads Partnership, a regional organization that promotes regional cooperation.
• Ninety-five percent of respondents said that their elected officials should encourage formal working relations among the different Hampton Roads jurisdictions. Seventy-six percent said they would vote for a candidate who favors combining services on a regional basis.
• Most respondents (over 60%) view politics and government as well as competition among the cities and counties, as impeding regional cooperation. Business, the media and public employees are viewed as supporters by majority of the residents.
• Most respondents (over 75%) report that the region and the city or county where they reside provide a high quality of life. Most respondents rated shopping, restaurants, entertainment, culture, museums, and higher education as good or very good. On the negative side, cost of living, transportation and earnings were given a good or very goodbette rating by only about a third of respondents.
• On the question of what are problems in their city or county, 49% viewed traffic congestion as the biggest problem. A higher proportion of respondents in the urban core (45%) reported that crime and drugs are a great or very great problem, as compared to 15% of those who live in the suburbs.

Perceptions of Regional Cooperation

Most respondents favored some form of joint effort combining public services on a regional basis (see Chart 1). This is particularly the case for mass transit where 72% favored combining services. Other services that rated high for combining services (more than 50%) are roads and streets, social services, emergency services, libraries, recreation facilities, public parks and economic development. Public housing and schools did not receive strong support on this question.

Graph 1: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000
 
 

Exploring geographic location on the question of combining services, no difference was found comparing respondents on the Peninsula with those on the Southside of Hampton Roads. However, cComparing respondents in the outer suburbs with those in the inner suburbs and the urban core, 40% of those in the outer suburbs, andand 46% of those in the urban core favored combining schools as compared to 30% of the inner suburb residents. Income also influenced views on combing schools.

Low income residents (45%) were more likely to favor combining schools as compared to those

who are upper income (32% of those earning more than $75,000). High income residents were more likely to favor combining roads, mass transit, prisons, and economic development (see Table 1).

Table 1: Respondents In Favor of Combining Services and Income

(Percent reporting Favor to Strongly Favor)

Table 1: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

Most respondents (62%) had not heard of the Hampton Roads Partnership. No differences could be noted comparing the core cities, the outer suburbs and the inner suburbs. However, high income respondents (earning over $75,000) were more likely to have heard of the Partnership (54%) while those earning less than $25,000 were much less likely (26%) to have heard the
name. Ninety-two percent of respondents said that their elected officials should encourage formal working relations among the different Hampton Roads jurisdictions.Of those respondents who gave an opinion, 76% said they would vote for a candidate who favors combining services and 24% said they would vote for a candidate who opposed formally combing services. Eighty-three percent of the urban core residents, 72% of the inner suburbs, and 68% of the outer suburbs reported they would vote for a candidate who favors formally combining services.On the issue of formally merging regional jurisdictions, respondents split 50-50 on whether they would approve or disapprove of several Hampton Roads cities/counties merging into a single
regional jurisdiction.

Pros and Cons to Regionalism

Most respondents (over 60%) view politics and government and inter-jurisdictional city and county competition as barriers to regional cooperation (see Table 2). On the other hand, the greater number view business and economic interests as supports. Other supports reported include the media (newspapers and TV) and employees in the public sector. Of some interest, furthermore, respondents in the outer suburbs were less likely to view politics and government as a barrier (45%) as compared to the inner suburbs respondents (65%) and the urban core (63%).

Table 2: Percent of Respondents Viewing Component as Barrier or Support To Regional Cooperation

Table 2: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

Rating Quality of Life and Amenities

In rating their city or county on quality of life,75% of the respondents reported good to excellent; and 50% said their city/county was better to much better in the past five years.
In rating the Hampton Roads Region, 77% reported good to excellent; and 57% said it has gotten better or much better in the past five years. Respondents in the inner and outer suburbs were more likely to rate their city as excellent (38% and 34% respectively) as compared to 14% in the inner core. Those persons who earn more tend to be more positive in rating their cities compared to low income respondents (see Table 3). Eighty-five percent of those persons earning more than $75,000 rate their city as good or excellent. In contrast, 50% of those persons earning less than $25,000 rated their city as good or excellent.

Table 3: Rating of City and Hampton Roads

(Percent Rating Good or Excellent)

Table 3: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

In viewing amenities in the region, 60% of the respondents rated the following as good or very good: shopping, restaurants, entertainment, culture, museums, and higher education (see Chart 23).

Graph 23: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

On the negative side, cost of living, earnings and transportation in the region received good or very good ratings by roughly a third of respondents. Earnings were viewed positively by only 25% of respondents. While there appears to be little difference among respondents based on location, some differences could be noted based on income. Those persons earning less than $25,000 were less likely to rate job opportunities (44%), cost of living (24%), and earnings (17%) as good or very good compared to those persons earning over $75,000 (60%, 31%, 32%, respectively).

As a reflection of degree of satisfaction with the region, 77% reported they would continue to

reside in Hampton Roads. Of this number, 54% would stay where they are, 13% would move out of their neighborhood but stay in the same city or county, and 10% would move out of their city but remain in some other location in Hampton Roads. The remaining 23% reported they would leave the region.

To be noted is that the desire to leave is associated with perceptions of job opportunities and earnings. Of those who rated job opportunities as very poor, 35% said they would move out of Hampton Roads as compared to 17% of those persons who rated job opportunities as very good. Of those who rated earnings as very poor, 45% said they would move out of Hampton Roads. In contrast, those who rated earnings as very good, only 4% said they would move out of Hampton Roads.
In viewing age and years in the area, newer residents (38%) were more likely to report a desire to move out of Hampton Roads compared to those who lived in the area for more than 40 years (11%). Younger people, aged 30 or less were more likely to say they would move out of Hampton Roads if given the opportunity (33%), as compared to 18% of those over the age of 50.

Perceived Problems

Traffic congestion was viewed as the biggest problem with 49% of the respondents rating it as a great problem to a very great problem. There was virtually no difference between the views of respondents on the Peninsula and those on the Southside for any problem.

Graph 34: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000
 
 

A higher proportion of respondents in the urban core (45%) reported that crime and drugs are a great or very great problem, as compared to 15% of those who live in the suburbs (see Table 4). Slightly more than half of respondents in the urban core and inner suburban areas viewed traffic as a great or very great problem. In contrast, just 22% of the outer suburban respondents rated traffic as a great or very great problem.

Table 4: Perceived Problem and Location

(Percentage of respondents reporting crime or traffic as a "great" or "very great" problem)

Table 4: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000
 

Those respondents who have lived in Hampton Roads for more than 40 years were more likely to rate drugs and crime as a great or very great problem (39%). In some contrast, 22% of those who have lived in Hampton Roads for 5 years or less rated crime and drugs as a great to very great problem. Respondents earning less that $25,000 a year were more likely to rate crime, housing and taxes as a great or very great problem. This contrasts with higher income respondents that view these matters as less of a problem (see Table 5).

Table 5: High and Low Income Respondents Perceive Problems Differently:

(Percentage of respondents rating crime, housing or taxes as "very great" or "great" problem)

Table 5: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

Regional Travel Patterns

Viewing travel patterns in the Hampton Roads Region, respondents were asked to what

city or county they traveled to the most in the month prior to this survey. Norfolk was the lead city followed by Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Newport News (see Table 6 ). The percentage of respondents who selected the city as their most frequent destination are as follows:

Table 6: Most Frequent Cities Traveled To in the Past Month

Table 6: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

On the Peninsula, almost half of the respondents from Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City County, Mathews County and York County identified Newport News as the city they traveled to most frequently in the past month. Hampton was identified by 5 to 18 percent of respondents traveling from these areas. Among Newport News respondents, 32% identified Hampton while 19% identified Norfolk. Twenty-four percent of Hampton respondents reported no travel to other cities for any reason in the month prior to the survey.

On the Southside, almost half (47%) of the Virginia Beach respondents identified Norfolk as their prime destination. Among Chesapeake respondents, 38% identified Virginia Beach and 28% identified Norfolk as prime destinations. Among Norfolk residents, 41% identified Virginia Beach as their prime destination, and 20% reported no travel to other cities for any reason in the month prior to the survey. Portsmouth respondents identified Norfolk (26%), Chesapeake (22%) and Virginia Beach (19%).

Respondents in the urban core cities were most likely to travel to Virginia Beach (20%) or reported no travel to other places in the month prior to the survey (I8%). Among inner suburban respondents, 56% reported traveling to Norfolk and 13% reported no travel to other cities in the month prior to the survey. Among outer suburban respondents, the greatest number (28%) reported traveling to Newport News. The remaining outer suburban respondents listed their destinations as follows: Chesapeake, 15%; Hampton, 13%; Virginia Beach, 12%; no travel, 12%.

The most common reasons for travel in Hampton Roads were business (39%), shopping (19%), personal chores (19%), and recreation/entertainment (13%). Those living in the outer suburbs were slightly more likely to report traveling to another city to shop (39%) than for job related business (35%). However, for those in the inner suburbs, 42% traveled to another city for job related business, and 39% of the urban coreresidents traveled for job related business while 17% traveled for the purpose of shopping.

Cities are traveled to for different reasons. Most people who travel to Portsmouth, for example, do so for work related reasons. A greater proportion of people who travel to Norfolk (45%) come for work than to shop (15%). Of those who travel to Chesapeake, 35% do so for work while 30% go to shop. Residents travel to Newport News for similar reasons: 33% come for work and 29% come to shop. Table 7 summarizes the percentage of respondents who traveled to the seven most frequently selected destinations for a particular purpose.

Table 7: Percent of Respondents Reporting Reasons for Traveling to City

Table 7: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

Of those who traveled to Portsmouth in them month prior to the survey, 52% said the main reason was employment, while 0% said it was to shop.

Of the 373 respondents who said they traveled to another city for employment, 34% of these respondents said they traveled to Norfolk, followed by 14% who traveled to Virginia Beach, 11% who traveled to Chesapeake, 11% to Newport News, and 10% to Hampton.

Of the 181 respondents who said they traveled to another city to shop, 24% said they went to Norfolk, followed by 19% to Chesapeake, 19% to Newport News,18% to Virginia Beach, and 11% to Hampton.

Of the 121 respondents who traveled to another city for recreation or entertainment, 36% traveled to Norfolk, followed by 23% to Virginia Beach, and 14% to Williamsburg.
 
 

Methodology

Data Collection

The results reported here are based on a random sample of 1169 Hampton Roads residents interviewed by telephone between May 8 and May 24, 2000. All interviews were conducted between 3:00 and 9:00 PM on weekdays, and between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Saturdays. The sampling margin of error is ± 2.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Each interview typically required approximately 10 minutes to complete. The sample was derived from a population of random-digit-dialed telephone numbers. All numbers were subsequently randomly sorted for allocation to interviewers during the course of the study. The sample is stratified to represent the proportion of adults in the population age 18 or older for each geographic location in Hampton Roads.

Sample Description

The resulting stratified, random sample matched the actual population distribution across municipalities in Hampton Roads:

Table 8: Sample Distribution Compared to Hampton Roads

Municipality                                    Sample        Raw Count %                    Actual %
 

Gloucester County                           32                     2.7                                     2.3

Isle of Wight County                          19                     1.6                                     1.9

James City County                           37                     3.2                                     3.0

Mathews County                                6                       0.5                                     0.6

York County                                       48                     4.1                                     3.8

Chesapeake                                  152                      13.0                                   13.1

Hampton                                            98                      8.4                                     8.8

Newport News                                 131                     11.2                                   11.6

Norfolk                                              161                     13.8                                   14.6

Poquoson                                          15                        1.3                                     0.8

Portsmouth                                         81                         6.9                                     6.4

Suffolk                                                 43                         3.7                                     4.2

Virginia Beach                                 342                       29.3                                   28.1

Williamsburg                                        4                         0.3                                     0.8

Total                                               1169                      100.0                                 100.0

Table 8: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

The following tables summarize other key demographic characteristics of the sample (n = 1169):

Table 9: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

The median reported annual household income for all of Hampton Roads in the sample was between $25,001 and $50,000.

Table 10: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

The average reported age in years in Hampton Roads in the sample was 44.5.

Table 11: Source: The SSRC at ODU Regional Survey 2000

Other Demographic Characteristics

The average survey respondent has lived in Hampton Roads for 24 years. Thirty-nine percent of the sample lived in Hampton Roads for 26 or more years; 18% for 5 or fewer years. Slightly over 60% of the sample were female; and almost 40% had at least a college degree. Almost 30% of the sample viewed themselves as working in professional or managerial occupations, while almost 7% described themselves at working in the military.