Workers on part of the Purple Line in Montgomery County, in a 2021 file photo. A majority of Maryland voters in a recent poll said they favored improvements to roads and transit, and some might even favor targeted tax increases for it, according to a coalition of transportation industry groups. File photo from @PurpleLineMD.
Most Marylanders say they support improvements to roads and transit systems in the state and may be willing to pay more, according to a poll released by a coalition of transportation industry groups.
The poll released Tuesday by Together for Transportation Funding comes amid the ongoing debate over how the state should modernize the way it pays for transportation projects, and whether roads or transit should be the priority.
Michael Sakata, president and CEO of the Maryland Transportation Builders and Materials Association and president of the Together for Transportation Funding Coalition, said the poll shows state residents “have a commitment” to all forms of transportation infrastructure.
“It isn’t about roads, bridges, transit,” he said. “It’s about improving lives, safeguarding livelihoods and enriching the quality of life for every Marylander.”
The 21-question poll was part of a private survey conducted last month by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media. Together for Transportation, a transportation industry advocacy group, paid for the private survey.
Gonzales surveyed 820 registered voters who said they are likely to vote in November. The poll, conducted between Aug. 24-30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.
Maryland faces a transportation funding cliff. Money flowing to the Transportation Trust Fund — mostly from gas taxes — is on the decline as inflation is driving up costs. The result is that the state has less money to pay for maintenance and new road and transit projects.
Declines in revenue, federal aid drive cuts in proposed transportation projects
Overall, the poll found that 66% favored increased spending on roadways while 34% favored increased spending on transit projects such as the Red Line project recently resurrected by Gov. Wes Moore (D).
Sakata said lawmakers should not be locked into what he called a binary set of choices.
But paying for those projects has become increasingly difficult.
A 31-member panel, the Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs Commssion, is tasked with making recommendation to the legislature on ways to modernize the way the state raises money for roads and transit projects.
The legislature this year dissolved the original TRAIN Commission in favor of a smaller commission and an advisory group. Sakata was a member of the original incarnation of the commission that delivered an interim set of recommendations earlier this year.
The newly formed blue-ribbon commission has yet to meet. That group is expected to make final recommendations before the General Assembly meets in January.
The Transportation Trust Fund struggles to pay for so-called state of good repair maintenance of the current system. Last year, transportation officials said the gap between projects requested and available funding over six years was $3.3 billion.
Last month, Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld walked that number back a little but estimated the gap was still well over a billion. County leaders were told in August to expect cuts to priority projects. Some were told they could get funding if they could pay for matches traditionally covered by the state.
Those surveyed in the poll were split on increased taxes to pay for improvements. Of those surveyed, 49% said they were willing to pay more in taxes for road projects while 48% said they did not favor such increases.
The poll included questions messaging on safety, economic growth and increased costs associated with delaying projects. Once those were factored in, support for increasing transportation funding exceeded 60% and, in some cases, exceeded 70%.
In all those cases, support among women, Democrats and Black voters approached or exceeded 60%.
“If you look at the poll, support for better transportation infrastructure tends to come from the Democrats, Black voters, women and metropolitan voters, you know, the core constituencies of the Democratic governor and the legislative leaders,” Sakata said.
“It’s good politics and the right thing, the safety thing, to do,” he said.
After being exposed to “persuasive messages,” the attitudes on increased funding shifted.
Overall, 55% said they would be “willing to pay a little more in taxes.” More than four in 10 said they still would not be willing to pay more.
A majority of voters, 53%, said they’d be willing to consider increasing the sales tax by a penny – from 6 to 7 cents – to pay for the projects. Sixty-five percent said they’d be willing to consider local governments funding projects with “local tax dollars.”
One possible option could include regional taxing authorities.
But other options fell flat with people surveyed in the poll.
Increasing the gas tax or imposing a tax on miles traveled ranked as the least popular in the poll.
The price of a gallon of fuel in Maryland includes a 46.1-cent state tax on top of a federal surcharge.
Only 35% of those surveyed said they would support an increase in the state tax. More than six in 10 people in the survey said “no way” to a state gas tax increase.
Another unpopular option was a tax on vehicle miles traveled. That option is also not a favorite of many lawmakers who say self-reporting of mileage is unreliable and electronic monitoring would be unacceptable to the public due to concerns about government intrusion.
Other highlights of the poll include:
More than seven in 10 people said they favor the replacement of the American Legion Bridge.
Six in 10 support adding express lanes to I-270.
Sixty-five percent of people statewide support the proposed Red Line project in Baltimore.
When it comes to allowing more public-private partnerships to build large, expensive projects, 66% said they would support the option.
Twenty-six percent of people surveyed said they favored increasing funding to roads while 20% favored more funding for transit. Another 46% said they preferred to see the state maintain the current balance of road and transit projects.