Poll Shows Strong Support for Harbor Garage Redevelopment Project

BOSTON, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston voters are very concerned about economic conditions and strongly support development along the waterfront and the Greenway to create jobs and increase tax revenues, according to a new poll conducted by Strategic Opinion Research Inc. This includes redevelopment of the Harbor Garage where 51 percent to 78 percent of voters expressed support for the project depending on their knowledge about its impact on jobs and taxes.

In a random sampling of 300 registered voters in Boston, respondents voiced support of the project by a 51 percent to 33 percent margin when asked if the mayor and city council should approve the development. When economic factors were considered, such as the fact that the project could add $1.8 million in annual tax revenue and provide 7,800 jobs, support rose as high as 78 percent, with just 15 percent opposed.

Concerns about shadows on the greenway and obstructed views are important factors, according to the results, but did not significantly swing opposition.

"The economic benefits are stronger motivators to support this project than to oppose it," said Anne Danehy, president of Strategic Opinion Research Inc. "While there are concerns about shadow impacts and city and harbor views, those are less important to voters than the economic issues."

The poll was conducted between August 10 through 11 and has a margin of error of +/- five percent.

While Mayor Thomas Menino is given positive marks for economic development, the economic climate is of overriding concern to voters. More than a third of the respondents said they or someone in their family had lost their job in the last two years and more than two-thirds said they know someone who had lost their jobs over the same period. At the same time, a majority of voters said Mayor Thomas Menino has done a "good" or "excellent" job in bringing economic development to the city (60 percent), while just 36 percent judged his performance as "fair" or "poor."

"This poll shows that voters believe the benefits of this project far outweigh any perceived negatives," said Don Chiofaro, president of the Chiofaro Company, which commissioned the poll. "Together, the city and the company should do all it can to produce an outcome that will create jobs, enlarge the tax base and help create a strong and vital foundation for further economic progress along the waterfront and the Greenway."

Complete poll information and results are available on request. Information on SOR Inc. can be found at www.strategicopinionresearch.com.

SOURCE Chiofaro Company