MIAMI HERALD
January 27, 2005

By LARRY LEBOWITZ
llebowitz@herald.com

A majority of Miami-Dade suburbanites say they are spending more time in traffic than they were a year ago and that it is damaging their quality of life, according to a new poll commissioned by the Urban Environment League of Greater Miami.

Environment League President Nancy Liebman, a former Miami Beach commissioner, said the new data was released as “an opening salvo” in the upcoming battle over expanding the urban development boundary starting next week at the County Commission.

“The message has got to get out to the people,” Liebman said.

“The lead their little lives. They complain about the traffic, but the miss the bigger picture.”

The poll of 400 registered voters in the suburbs of Kendall, Hialeah and South Miami was conducted in English and Spanish between Jan. 17 and Jan. 20 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

THE POLL
Some highlights:

• 55 percent of the respondents said they are spending more time in traffic than they were a year ago.

• 77 percent said traffic is a ''lot worse'' than when they first moved to the area.

• 63 percent said they do not believe their elected officials are giving enough consideration to area traffic problems.

• 44 percent said they believe that county government is protecting their quality of life; 42 percent said they did not and 14 percent were unsure.

MAJOR FACTOR
• 63 percent of the respondents said traffic is a ''major'' factor in the choices they make or now they spend their time; 16 percent said it was a ''minor'' facotr and 19 percent said it was no factor at all.

The sampling, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent, cut across political affiliation, age, race and gender lines.

URBAN SPRAWL
While the findings focused on traffic and congestion, the environmental group was trolling voter attitudes on related urban sprawl issues.

Fifty-six percent of the respondents do not believe existing regulations protect their quality of life and the environment, and less than half -- 44 percent -- believe county government is trying to protect their quality of life.

The prospect of already jammed roads getting worse could emerge as a swing issue in Miami-Dade this year as commissioners face increasing pressure from developers to expandthe county's development boundaries.

There are already three proposed projects that would, if approved by county and state regulators, put thousands of homes outside the existing line in South and West Miami-Dade.

With similar development battles exploding across the state -- most notably over farmland in West Palm Beach County -- Gov. Jeb Bush and the lawmakers are expected to attempt an extensive overhaul of state's growth laws when the Legislature meets in March.

Herald staff writer Curtis Morgan contributed to this report