Survey shows residents support further road funding

By Jeffrey M. Salem

A recent informal survey of several hundred Kansas City residents showed a majority preferred more funding for infrastructure projects and improvements, and that public awareness was the best route to set them at ease with future projects.

A survey conducted by the Heavy Constructors Association of Greater Kansas City included 400 licensed drivers in eight metro counties last August and September.

The results were encouraging for Ed DeSoignie, executive director of HCA. In the first citywide survey since he became executive director in 1997, DeSoignie said survey responses proved residents know the importance of maintaining infrastructure throughout Kansas City. Such projects can sometimes take a backseat to higher-profile projects in the minds of residents.

“Capital improvements are one of those background things,” he said. “You don’t think of a street until you hit a pothole.”

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed supported either additional funding or sustained funding for roads and bridges. Seventy-seven percent wanted an increase or sustained form of funding levels for water line, sewer and storm-water projects.

DeSoignie said he was most interested in this statistic from the survey: 65 percent of respondents said comprehension and awareness of upcoming projects was important to supporting a project.

“That didn’t surprise me as much as it validated my thought that the public will support these capital improvement projects if they know where the money is going,” DeSoignie said.

He was adamant that the timing of the survey was not to be tied with any potential sales tax initiative.

“It was a very conscious decision by the association that we did not want this tied to a sales tax or anything,” he said.

But the information could be reinforcement for Kansas City officials as a promised light-rail plan is set for a November 2008 vote. There has also been at least mention of a sales tax increase to help pay for the overhaul of the city’s combined sewer system in future years.

“When some of these issues start working themselves out over the years,” DeSoignie said generally, not talking about any specific project, “if the public is aware of the significance these things have to everyday lives, then they will get behind it.”

Joy Wasendorf, public information officer with the $245 million Interstate 29/35 Connections Project that will oversee the replacement of the Paseo Bridge with the Christopher S. Bond Bridge, agreed with the importance public awareness can bring to a project. It not only helps motorists, she said, but also allows for a smoother construction process.

“It helps us get the job done as well if people know this lane is closed so they can change to other routes,” she said.

Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.