The City of Sanibel: Community and Visitor Reaction to Traffic Congestion and Expectations for Relief

Transcription

1 PB&A Marketplace Intelligence The City of Sanibel: Community and Visitor Reaction to Traffic Congestion and Expectations for Relief October 15, 2015 Prepared for: Judith Ann Zimomra City Manager And Andrea Miller City of Sanibel 800 Dunlop Rd. Sanibel, FL PB&A Marketplace Intelligence 918 River Basin Ct. #202, Bradenton FL, O: (941) C: (813) W:

2 Objectives The primary purpose of this research is to provide unbiased consumer feedback to the City Manager, City Council and supporting staff of the City of Sanibel regarding the issue of traffic congestion on the island and whether or not any action by the city is desired and appropriate. More specifically the following information will be gathered and analyzed: What impact traffic congestion is having on: Single day visitors. Vacationers staying overnight in Sanibel. Part time residents. Full time residents. Workers commuting on/off the island. The extent to which this impact matters in terms of changing behaviors and attitudes toward living, working or visiting the City of Sanibel. The level of demand and expectations for the City of Sanibel to attempt to ease the traffic situation. Suggestions for changes and improvements (unaided). Reaction to possible improvements. Other issues the city may desire to investigate. Study Approach Phase One: This research begins with the assumption that traffic congestion, particularly in-season and during specific day parts, is the primary complaint of those living/visiting and/or commuting to work within the City of Sanibel. To begin to better understand and quantify this issue for City of Sanibel versus the remainder of Lee County, PB&A will review all existing research available including any information available from the City of Sanibel, the Lee County Development Council and the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau and attempt to recast the results for the City of Sanibel only. A component of this first phase that PB&A believes will greatly benefit the quality of the study and likely results is the ability for Phil Balducci to meet with City Council members and other influential community leaders prior to the beginning of the actual research. The purpose of these meeting will be for Phil to listen to these important individuals and to uncover issues, concerns and possible solutions worth testing as well as to be sure everyone is comfortable with the research process. Phil will set aside two days to meet with as many local officials and residents, one-onone or in small groups, as the City deems important. Page 2 of 6

3 Phase Two: Completion of 1,000 intercept interviews with a random sample of occupants of vehicles as they leave the island. This interviewing will take place at preselected dates including the likely busiest/most congested days as well as more typical in-season days. Eight days between January and April of 2016 will be utilized. Each day, teams of interviewers from PB&A will complete a minimum of 125 short, inperson interviews. Data will be recorded via an ipad application and City officials will have access to the data instantaneously from an online report. As part of this interview respondents will be asked to provide their address. PB&A will work with the City and local law enforcement officials to set up the interviewing process to assure maximum safety and minimal inconvenience while still generating as near a random sample as possible. To increase participation, each respondent who answers the survey and provides an accurate address will be entered into a contest to win an ipad. Phase Three: One week after being interviewed roadside, survey respondents will receive a thank you from the City. In this note will be a request for answers to a few more questions. This second questionnaire will be more rigorous and in-depth than that used in phase two. As in phase one, to induce participation, those who complete the online survey will receive a chance to win a second ipad. PB&A expects a response rate of approximately 20%. This would yield an estimated ending sample of 200 complete interviews with a maximum error range of +7.1% at the 95% confidence level for the sample as a whole. Recognizing that the City may desire a larger ending sample size, PB&A has provided costs for expanded research that will yield approximately 400 complete surveys from this phase. With an ending sample of 400 complete interviews, the error range is ±5.0% at the 95% confidence level. Optional: If the City of Sanibel has a reasonably complete listing of addresses for city residents/property-owners, it is possible to efficiently augment the findings from phases one through three with a survey directed at these individuals. The primary purpose would be to completely understand the relative importance of traffic congestion and expectations for a solution within the context of other wants, needs and concerns of City residents. This option can also be completed by telephone interview but at significantly greater cost. Page 3 of 6

4 Responsibilities of PB&A Marketplace Intelligence Initial meetings with officials and residents Design of the survey instruments. Interviewer instruction and supervision. Complete in-person and online interviews. Real time 24/7 results from the in-person interviewing. Data coding and tabulation. Professional analysis of data. Final, comprehensive written report. Oral presentation of results by Phil Balducci. Continued support after the research is completed at no additional cost. PB&A will provide an electronic copy of the written report, which can be easily reprinted as needed. In addition, PB&A will work closely with the City of Sanibel in preparation of any type of report or presentation materials deemed necessary. The style and level of detail our report offers will be customized to your specific needs and requests. Phil Balducci will conduct an oral presentation of the results. This presentation can be formal or informal, but our typical format includes an explanation of key findings, conclusions, and recommendations using PowerPoint and individual handouts, followed by a group discussion, and question and answer session. After the final report and presentation, PB&A will be available for further consultation at no charge and will work closely with the museum and any financial or architectural professionals to put together additional materials. Phil Balducci and the City of Sanibel Phil Balducci, will be the primary contact with the City of Sanibel and will be the author of this study. Phil will be available at no cost to any member of the study team 24 hours a day by phone (mobile) or (phil@pbaresearch.com). Robert Joyner who is a Project Director for PB&A works and lives in Fort Myers and will assist Phil with this important research. Phil holds an advanced degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Research Methodologies (MSIM). He is president and founder of PB&A Marketplace Intelligence (1986) and a partner in SaleStream (2013). PB&A has worked with numerous cities and counties (Hillsborough County FL, Orlando FL, Flint MI, Rochelle IL, Morgan Hills CA, and more) across the country Page 4 of 6

5 providing research services on a wide variety of issues. The company offers unequalled consumer research expertise, as well as analytics services that meet and exceed industry standards for quality and integrity at reasonable costs. Some of PB&A s other clients include; Mercedes Benz, Audi, Liberty Mutual, Disney, Dunkin Brands, the YMCA, the CIA, and the American Cancer Society, among others. Timeline PB&A is prepared to begin the first phase of this research immediately. The expectation is that the final written report will be completed two weeks after the last interviewing. However continuous reporting of results will be available throughout phase three as the intercept interviewing is being concluded. Page 5 of 6

6 Pricing The cost of this research is $18,950 with 1,000 intercept interviews and an expected 200 complete online, follow-up interviews. The City of Sanibel will not be billed for any other expenses. If the study is expanded to 2,000 complete intercept and 400 follow up interviews the cost will increase to $28,995. The cost to include the city resident online survey is $2,500 If this research is acceptable as proposed, 50% of the project costs are payable upon signing the contract. At the completion of the study, the balance, plus travel expenses will be due and payable upon receipt. We very much would enjoy working with you on this important project. We will go beyond what is expected and do whatever it takes to satisfy your needs. Please sign and date below, and return a copy of this executed research outline to us. We will return a countersigned copy to you along with the initial invoice. If there are any questions or concerns about what is being proposed, please do not hesitate to give us a call. Agreed and accepted: PB&A, Inc. The City of Sanibel By: By: Name: Phil Balducci Name: Title: President Title: Date: May 4, 2015 Date: Page 6 of 6