BY LINDA BENTLEY | MAY 13, 2015
Survey indicates vast majority of Creekers oppose lane closures
CAVE CREEK – A survey of registered Cave Creek voters conducted by a nationally recognized research firm between May 7 and May 10 revealed over 81 percent of citizens oppose closing off traffic lanes on Cave Creek road for motorcycle parking.
Additionally, 83 percent of those surveyed do not believe it is fair to citizens and other businesses for a few bars/restaurants to be able to use the town government to close traffic lanes on Cave Creek Road at their discretion.
However, the survey further revealed 77 percent of respondents agreed with closing lanes on Cave Creek Road for a half day for the Fiesta Days Parade, while 70 percent agreed to the closure for a half day for the Wild West Days Parade.
Bike Week received the least amount of support with only 25 percent of respondents agreeing to lane closures for the event.
While 44 percent of respondents agreed with lane closures for 10K races, even fewer (37 percent) agreed with closures for bicycle races.
Close to 90 percent of respondents said they have driven through downtown Cave Creek during a special event when one or more lanes of traffic was closed and used for parking.
Sixty-three percent said they were inconvenienced by the lane closures during such occasions.
Other survey questions revealed 69 percent of respondents get most of their Cave Creek news from Sonoran News, which they ranked as number one, with the Arizona Republic/Scottsdale Republic coming in a distant second at just under 19 percent.
The survey respondents were split 57.5 percent female to 42.5 percent male with over half between 40 and 64 years of age.
Eighty-nine percent of the respondents attended college, 31 percent were graduates and 36 percent attended post graduate.
Employment status of respondents indicated 48 percent are employed full time, 19 percent are employed part time and 33 percent are retired.
Republicans dominated political affiliation at 43 percent, with 16 percent identifying as Democrats, 19 percent as Independents, 4 percent as Libertarians, and 1 percent each identifying as Green Party, Constitutional Party and other, while 14 percent preferred not to say.
The survey asked respondents to identify in which of five zones they lived, revealing 34 percent live south of Carefree Highway, 31 percent in north Cave Creek, 16 percent near downtown, 14 percent south of town hall and north of Carefree Highway, and 5 percent in west Cave Creek.
