Opinion shifts away
from road tolls
But opinion split on Wynne’s move to block toll proposal
Toronto, February 08th
– In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among
1,090 Toronto voters, opinion has shifted away from approval for road tolls
(43%) on city owned highways, toward disapproval (48%), with (9%) saying they
don’t know. This shift represents a modest change from November when (46%)
approved of road tolls and (45%) disapproved.
Those most likely to
disapprove of road tolls are aged 35-44 (60%), earn an income of $60,000-$80,000
(63%), and travel to work by car (58%). Those most likely to approve of road
tolls are 55-64 (54%), earn over $100,000 (54%), and have a post-graduate
education (61%).
Reversal no clear win for Wynne
Despite the majority
now disapproving of the plan to institute road tolls on the DVP and Gardiner
expressways, a slim majority (within the margin of error) of respondents
disapprove (43%) of Kathleen Wynne’s decision to deny the proposal, while (42%)
approve.
Disapproval was
common to those between 55-64 (57%), males (46%), and the most wealthy (54%).
Approval was common
to those aged 35-44 (48%), those earning $60,000-$80,000 (62%), and those that
drive to work (51%).
“With public opinion
shifting negatively toward road tolls, one could assume that support for
preventing them would be strong; however, opinion on the Premier’s decision to
block them is mixed at best,” said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
