Appendix A Questions and Responses by User Groups

Table A1. Decision Makers and Users' Response Rate

Group Surveyed	Number Sent	Number Returned	Response Rate (%)
Montana
Decision Makers	57	54	95
Rural Road Users*	101	16	16
School Bus Drivers	342	168	49
Total	500	238	48
North Dakota
Decision Makers	383	94	25
School Bus Drivers	94	38	40
Rural Road Commuters	450	61	14
Agriculture Producers	1,000	280	28
Total	1,927	473	25
South Dakota
Decision Makers	132	135	102*
Delivery Services	300	69	23
Mail Carriers	256	173	68
Total	688	377	55

* Montana Rural Road Users consist of Transit Drivers, Transit Providers, and Police Officers

Table A2. Montana Decision Makers and Users' Average Miles Traveled One Way

Group Surveyed	Average Miles One Way
Decision Makers	56
Rural Road Users	56
School Bus Drivers	192
Total	304

Table A3. North Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Average Miles Traveled One Way

Group Surveyed	Average Miles One Way
Decision Makers	48
Agricultural Producers	40
Rural Road Commuters	49
School Bus Drivers	84
Total	221

Table A4. South Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Average Miles Traveled One Way

Group Surveyed	Average Miles One Way
Decision Makers	46
Delivery Services	109
Mail Carriers	143
Total	298

Table A5. Montana Decision Makers and Users' Ratings of Physical Roadway Elements, by Percentage Response

Groups	-----Road Width-----			-----Ditch Steepness-----			-----Road Shoulder-----
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	37	43	19	31	35	31	26	37	35
Rural Road Users	31	56	13	38	37	25	18	43	37
Schools	30	40	22	29	38	29	13	38	43

NOTE: The rating of 1 and 2 = Good; 3 = Fair; and 4 and 5 = Poor
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A6. North Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Ratings of Physical Roadway Elements, by Percentage Response

Groups	-----Road Width-----			-----Ditch Steepness-----			-----Road Shoulder-----
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	60	34	6	52	38	9	47	40	12
Agricultural Producers	44	31	20	33	37	26	26	35	33
Rural Road Commuters	62	31	7	59	28	13	44	31	23
Schools	47	37	13	32	53	15	32	39	29

NOTE: The rating of 1 and 2 = Good; 3 = Fair; and 4 and 5 = Poor
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A7. South Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Ratings of Physical Roadway Elements, by Percentage Response

Groups	-----Road Width-----			-----Ditch Steepness-----			-----Road Shoulder-----
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	61	30	7	46	34	14	43	40	16
Delivery Services	43	41	16	48	36	14	28	36	35
Mail Carriers	42	39	16	31	46	19	18	49	28

NOTE: The rating of 1 and 2 = Good; 3 = Fair; and 4 and 5 = Poor
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A8. Montana Element's of the Road that Limit/Reduce Normal Operating Speed

Groups	Decision Makers		Rural Road Users		School Bus Driver		Total
Groups	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
Gravel	100.0	10	0.0	0	21.5	28	22.0	38
Rough roads	100.0	10	0.0	0	21.5	28	22.0	38
Washboards	0.0	0	6.1	2	16.9	22	13.9	24
Weather related	10.0	1	0.0	0	17.7	23	13.9	24
Potholes	30.0	3	6.1	2	7.7	10	8.7	15
Number of Respondents n =	10		33		130		173

R = number of times listed.

Table A9. North Dakota Element's of the Road that Limit/Reduce Normal Operating

Groups	Decision Makers		Agricultural Producers		Rural Road Commuters		School Bus Drivers		Total
Groups	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
Gravel	27.8	10	18.6	29	15.4	4	8.0	2	18.5	45
Rough roads	0.0	0	22.4	35	0.0	0	32.0	8	17.7	43
Weather related	13.9	5	9.0	14	15.4	4	36.0	9	13.2	32
Other	19.4	7	9.6	15	11.5	3	16.0	4	11.9	29
Washboards	11.1	4	13.5	21	0.0	0	8.0	2	11.1	27
Number of Respondents n =	25		26		156		36		243

R = number of times listed.

Table A10. South Dakota Element's of the Road that Limit/Reduce Normal Operating Speed

Groups	Decision Makers		Delivery Services		Mail Carriers		Total
Groups	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
Gravel	26.7	20	8.6	3	33.6	37	27.3	60
Washboards	4.0	3	22.9	8	36.4	40	23.2	51
Weather related	30.7	23	0.0	0	4.5	5	12.7	28
Poor maintenance	1.3	1	8.6	3	16.4	18	10.0	22
Potholes	9.3	7	11.4	4	7.3	8	8.6	19
Number of Respondents n =	75		35		110		220

R = number of times listed.

Table A11. Montana Decision Makers and Users' Have you noticed unusual wear and tear on your vehicle due to road conditions?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	54	53.7	29	44.4	24	1.9	1
Rural Road Users	16	50.0	8	50.0	8	0.0	0
School Bus Drivers	168	67.9	114	26.2	44	6.0	10
Total	238	63.4	151	31.9	76	4.6	11

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A12. North Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Have you noticed unusual wear and tear on your vehicle due to road conditions?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	96	33.3	32	66.6	64	0.0	0
Agricultural Producers	176	88.1	155	63.1	111	5.7	10
Rural Road Commuters	26	73.1	19	53.8	14	11.5	3
School Bus Drivers	61	41.0	25	59.0	36	0.0	0
Total	359	64.3	231	62.7	225	3.6	13

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A13. South Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Have you noticed unusual wear and tear on your vehicle due to road conditions?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	136	27.2	37	72.8	99	0.0	0
Delivery Service	96	34.4	33	37.5	36	0.0	0
Mail Carriers	174	67.2	117	28.7	50	4.0	7
Total	406	46.1	187	45.6	185	1.7	7

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A14. Montana Decision Makers and Users' Rating of Roadway Maintenance by Percentage Response

Groups	Winter Maintenance			Bridge Maintenance			Road Maintenance			Adequate Road Signing
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	78	20	2	60	28	4	56	35	7	63	20	1
Rural Road Users	56	38	63	44	50	6	19	56	25	69	25	6
Schools	52	35	9	55	24	12	20	39	56	63	23	8

NOTE: Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A15. North Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Rating of Roadway Maintenance by Percentage Response

Groups	Winter Maintenance			Bridge Maintenance			Road Maintenance			Adequate Road Signing
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	88	11	0	74	20	0	72	24	2	72	24	2
Agricultural Producers	59	28	11	40	24	11	30	40	28	69	19	9
Rural Road Commuters	46	26	26	52	30	10	34	25	36	74	21	3
Schools	45	37	16	63	21	5	29	37	32	87	10	3

NOTE: Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A16. South Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Rating of Roadway Maintenance by Percentage Response

Groups	Winter Maintenance			Bridge Maintenance			Road Maintenance			Adequate Road Signing
Groups	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor	Good	Fair	Poor
Decision Makers	88	10	1	66	25	3	68	26	6	87	7	5
Delivery Services	65	23	12	52	39	6	23	38	28	87	10	0
Mail Carriers	35	47	14	58	26	6	28	39	29	71	19	7

NOTE: Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not ansering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A17. Montana Do you feel the emergency services in your area are effective?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	54	83	45	11	6	6	3
Rural Road Users	16	88	14	13	2	0	0
School Bus Drivers	168	86	144	8	14	6	10
Total	238	85.3	203	9.2	22	5.5	13

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A18. North Dakota Do you feel the emergency services in your area are effective?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	94	95	89	3	3	2	2
Agricultural Producers	280	80	224	11	31	9	25
Rural Road Commuters	61	85	52	7	4	8	5
School Bus Drivers	38	79	30	11	4	11	4
Total	473	83.5	395	8.9	42	7.6	36

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A19. South Dakota Do you feel the emergency services in your area are effective?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	135	90	122	7	10	2	3
Delivery Service	69	80	55	13	9	7	5
Mail Carriers	173	81	140	12	20	65	13
Total	377	84.1	317	10.3	39	5.6	21

R = Number of respondents to question.
N = Total number of surveys.

Table A20. Montana Do you report problems along your roadway to your county road office or other official?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	54	4	2	87	27	9	5
Rural Road Users	16	75	12	25	4	0	0
School Bus Drivers	168	75	126	21	36	4	6
Total	238	58.8	140	28.2	67	4.6	11

R = Number respondenting to question.
N = Total number of surveys sent out.

Table A21. North Dakota Do you report problems along your roadway to your county road office r other official?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	94	89	84	11	10	0	0
Agricultural Producers	280	45	126	47	131	8	23
Rural Road Commuter	61	10	6	87	53	3	2
School Bus Drivers	38	63	24	29	11	8	3
Total	473	50.7	240	43.3	205	5.9	28

R = Number respondenting to question.
N = Total number of surveys sent out.

Table A22. South Dakota Do you report problems along your roadway to your county road office or other official?

Groups	Total N	YES		NO		N/A
Groups		%	R	%	R	%	R
Decision Makers	135	90	121	8	11	2	3
Delivery Service	69	43	30	55	38	1	1
Mail Carriers	173	54	93	39	68	7	12
Total	377	64.7	244	31.0	117	4.2	16

R = Number respondenting to question.
N = Total number of surveys sent out.

Table A23. Montana Funding Options Decision Makers and Road Users Would Support to Make Local Road Improvements, by Percentage Response

Type of Tax	Decision Makers				Rural Road Users	School Bus Drivers
	---------------Percentage---------------
	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO
Sales Tax	76	24	69	31	38	62
Fuel Tax	30	70	13	87	21	79
Property Tax	9	91	6	94	9	91
Other	13	87	25	75	12	88

NOTE: Decision Makers N = 54, Rural Road User N = 16, School Bus Driver N = 168

Table A24. North Dakota Funding Options Decision Makers and Road Users Would Support to Make Local Road Improvements, by Percentage Response

Type of Tax	Agricultural Producers						Decision Makers	Rural Road Commuters	School Bus Drivers
	---------------Percentage---------------
	YES	NO	YES	NO	N/A	YES	NO	YES	NO
Sales Tax	37	63	39	61	-	46	54	42	58
Fuel Tax	25	75	53	46	1	23	77	21	79
Property Tax	5	95	5	95	-	8	92	5	95
Other	31	69	21	79	-	28	72	21	79

NOTE: Agricultural Producers N = 280, Decision Makers N = 94, Rural Road Commuters N = 61, School Bus Drivers N = 38

Table A25. South Dakota Funding Options Decision Makers and Road Users Would Support to Make Local Road Improvements, by Percentage Response

Type of Tax	Decision Makers					Delivery Services
	---------------Percentage---------------
	YES	NO	N/A	YES	NO	N/A
Sales Tax	30	70	-	36	64	-
Fuel Tax	54	46	-	14	86	-
Property Tax	5	95	-	6	94	-
Other*	28	67	4	31	68	1

NOTE: *4 percent of Decision Makers did not answer this question; 1% of Delivery Services did not answer this question.
Decision Makers N = 135, Delivery Service N = 69

Table A26. Montana Decision Makers and Users' Recommended Improvements, by Percentage Response

Groups	Decision Makers		Rural Road Users		Schools		Total
Improvements	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
More Maintenance	51.9	28	6.3	1	53.6	90	50.0	119
Wider roads/road shoulders	29.6	16	37.5	6	31.0	52	31.0	74
More Paved Roads	29.6	16	12.5	2	19.6	33	21.4	51
More and better gravel	14.8	8	6.3	1	22.6	38	19.7	47
Better snow removal	7.4	9	0.0	0	8.3	14	9.6	23
Number respondents n =		54		16		168		238

R = Number of times this improvement was listed
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not answering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A27. North Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Recommended Improvements, by Percentage Response

Groups	Decision Makers		Agricultural Producers		Rural Road Commuters		School Bus Drivers		Total
Improvements	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
More and better gravel	25.4	71	12.8	12	8.2	5	13.2	5	19.6	93
More Paved Roads	17.9	50	16.0	15	9.8	6	10.5	4	15.8	75
Wider roads/road shoulders	13.2	37	7.4	7	6.6	4	10.5	4	12.2	58
More Maintenance	10.7	30	9.6	9	14.8	9	23.7	9	12.1	57
Better snow removal	7.5	21	0.0	0	6.6	4	5.3	2	5.7	27
Number respondents n =		94		280		61		38		473

R = Number of times this improvement was listed
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not answering the question or choosing N/A.

Table A28. South Dakota Decision Makers and Users' Recommended Improvements, by Percentage Response

Groups	Decision Makers		Delivery Services		Mail Carriers		Total
Improvements	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R	Percent	R
More and better gravel	8.9	12	5.8	4	23.1	40	18.1	56
More Paved Roads	16.3	22	8.7	6	6.9	12	12.9	40
More Maintenance	19.3	26	17.4	12	0.0	0	12.3	38
Better snow removal	10.4	4	0.7	1	15.0	26	10.0	31
Wider roads/road shoulders	7.4	10	5.8	4	5.2	9	7.4	23
Number respondents n =		135		69		173		308

R = Number of times this improvement was listed
Categories may not equal 100 percent, this is due to correspondents either not answering the question or choosing N/A.

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Acknowledgment | Disclaimer | Abstract

MPC Report No. 03-140
An Assessment of Regional Road User Needs in Three Rural States

Jill A. Hough
Gary Hegland
Crystal Bahe

April 2003

Mountain-Plains Consortium
www.mountain-plains.org