Putting Market Research to Work!

Chris McMahonMn/DOT St. Paul, MN

July 22, 2010

Intro/Overview – Getting to Know Mn/DOT Market Researchers • Our function began in 1994 and I came aboard shortly

thereafter, have been here since.• Champions- Yes! And will tell you other necessary

elements for successful integration.• What else will I share, on UTILITY of the data?

– Depth and Breadth of Offices Using– Decisions We Have Informed– Where We Are Going…..

Champions are ‘the Beginnings’…

Tom Sorel’s Org Chart, developed early in his position

Early Adopters & ‘Heavy Users’• Traffic Data Gatherers (Omnibus, since ‘87)

• Maintenance (Maintenance Business Planning ‘94)

• Construction– WZ Safety/Training– OCIC- Construction and Innovative Contracting

• Traffic Engineers– Congestion Mgmt– Safety Engineers

• Upper Mgmt; Architectural Design; Planners

Ongoing Tracking Studies…

• Omnibus - - - Annual since ‘87, (minus one year)

• Maintenance Business Plan/Products and Services Study ‘94-’05 (4)

• Perception (of Cngstn Mgmt Tools)Tracking – 9 Waves, ‘96-’07

• Congestion Tolerance – Every 3 years : ’98 -’07

• Snow and Ice/ Bare Pavement – ’99 and ’07

• Community Construction Evaluation – ’05 and ‘08

•Speed/HEAT Evaluation – ’05-’06 and ‘09-’11

Other Impacting, Single Study Efforts

•Merge Patterns in Work Zones ’01

•TH 36 Closure, Pre and Post Studies ‘07-08

•Mileage Based User Fee (MBUF) ‘07-’09

•Quality of Life Pilot – ’09

MAINTENANCE BUSINESS PLAN, ’94

BARE PAVEMENT/SNOW & ICE, ‘99 & ‘07

A ‘Sampling’ of Impactful Decisions Made

1994After 4 waves of research, spanning 11 years, the conditions of the sides of the hwys and frwys stayed in lower right quadrant.

2005 ↓

Since ’07, phone calls began trickling in,

With consumers and perhaps some local officials

complaining about mowing on the roadsides. The implications were that Mn/DOT was not doing enough…..

..and the Maintenance engineers asked if we could confirm or deny...

Maintenance Performance (2009 Omnibus) I want to know HOW WELL you think Mn/DOT is doing in each area. Use any number from 1 to 10; a ‘10’ means they are doing an ‘Extremely good’ job in this area, and ‘1’ means they are doing an ‘Extremely poor’ job in this area.

n=800 unless otherwise noted

Moving on –Bare Pavement 2007

• 1999 Definition of bare pavement changed from ‘fully bare’ to ‘bare between the wheel paths’

• Was this still true 8 years later?

MERGING IN WORK ZONES

SECOND H.E.A.T. CAMPAIGN EVAL.

A ‘Sampling’ of Impactful Decisions Made

While working primarily to gain awareness and attitudes regarding heightened speed ticketing, we are learning more about what else is threatening and the public would like to see enforced.

Following chart asks:“People feel differently about how safe or dangerous different types of driving behaviors are. In your opinion, how much of a threat is it to the personal safety of you and/or your family if OTHER DRIVERS do the following?” Using the scale of 0 to 6, with 0 meaning Not a threat and 6 means a Major threat to the personal safety of you and your family, How much of a threat is …

Base = 800 Total unless notedHeat 2009 Wave 1 Presentation to MSP: 5/12/10

Most threatening behaviors in public’s perception last Fall…

COMMUNITY CONSTRUCTION EVAL.

TH36 CLOSURE PRE AND POST WAVES

A ‘Sampling’ of Impactful Decisions Made

Opinions by District

Q7. Next, I’d like you to think about some specific aspects of the project. Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following

statements about the construction phase of the project…

Pre-Closure Study, TH 36: 2006A concept test with 2 scenarios read in rotating order to 3 respondent types: “Highway 36 from Century Avenue to White Bear Avenue would be completely closed for a 5-month period in 2007 from April to September. It would then be open to one lane in either direction from September to November 2007, when it would again be opened to two lanes in each direction. MnKnight Road would also be one lane in either direction from April to September of 2007. Margaret Street would be closed and a vehicle bridge completed in the second year of construction, 2008. A pedestrian bridge will be built near First Street and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2007. Project cost for this construction scenario is 15% lower than the other scenario.” Scenario II is as follows “In this scenario, Highway 36 from Century Avenue to White Bear Avenue would remain open to traffic with constant lane closures and delays during non-peak hours for 2007 and 2008. McKnight Road would be one lane in either direction from April 2007 through November 2007, and Margaret Street would be closed, with a vehicle bridge completed in the second year. A pedestrian bridge near First Street is expected to be completed in the second year as well. The McKnight signal would remain until July 2008 when it will be removed. Project cost for this construction scenario is 15% higher than the other scenario.”

Net result to ‘06 Pre-Study: 50/50 among all but No.St. Paul residents (3:1 in favor)Post Closure Study ‘duped template’ of CCE study from’06- - done

near end of 36 Project in 2007

Opinion of Decision to Close Road: ‘07 (project nearly completed)“How do you feel about this decision to close Highway 36 instead of leaving lanes open for traffic?”

Agreement:Residents: 92%Businesses: 84%Thru-commuters: 89%

(base: 400 residents, 100 businesses, and 400 through-commuters)

Estimated Project Savings: ~ $5M

• Learning to be more nimble: Began our online community (OLC) in this calendar year… it is about 6 months old.

• This allows quicker turnaround for public input that can inform topics in a way that is stronger than most qualitative, and yet still is not an ‘even exchange’ for in-depth quantitative studies.

• Allows Mn/DOT to ‘listen in’ on interaction from a rep-to-Mn-census group of citizens’ dialogues

What we are doing today…

Innovation: Mn/DOT’s Online Community 4/19/10

Member SpotlightNathan A, District 3“Mn/DOT makes me think of care and commitment. If Mn/DOT didn't care about Minnesotans, then why would this community exist? Prior to learning about this community, I never would have thought that Mn/DOT would go to such lengths to find out what Minnesotans think. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that Mn/DOT is making such acommitment to seek feedback and provide an environment whereMinnesotans can interact with each other and members of Mn/DOT, all to hopefully ensure the growth and improvement of transportation in Minnesota for the years to come.Thanks, Mn/DOT!"

Q: “What does ‘Mn/DOT’ mean to you?

Innovation: Mn/DOT’s Online Community 07/19/10

Mn/DOT Talk Snapshot Citizens Offer Personality to Mn/DOT Survey: Mn/DOT Personified (N = 181) 

Members were presented a list of 34 adjectives and attributes and asked to select those that they felt best exemplify Mn/DOT's personality. Most frequently selected attributes include "Hard Working," "Reliable" and "Dependable." Conversely, the options of "Green," "Open-Book" and "Transparent" rank among the least frequently mentioned choices, offering some opportunities for Mn/DOT to investigate.

  

SO: how are we utilizing this rich but not cheap information that comes from a world of methodologies, that overlaps qualitative and quantitative? (While being fully neither!)…….

We are informing currently ‘hot topics’ with on-time feedback from more than a few focus groups; Merging was revisited here after construction season started; a few of the other topics include (past 6 months):

•Transparency in organizations•Roundabouts•Smooth Roads•Snow & Ice at very end of season

•The Messages are Clear for All of Us…. With a customer base that is a moving target, we must go out and meet them on their own turf;

•We need to make use of every methodological tool; There is no longer a silver bullet as we had in phone surveys;

•To Be Nimble, in guiding decisions, we are choosing from a wider array of tools;

•Each tool is chosen for the amount of precision needed!

Contact Info:

Chris McMahon, Director of Market Research651.366.3771chris.mcmahon@state.mn

Karla Rains, Statewide Mgr., Market Research651.366.3172karla.rains@state.mn.us