Support for renewing Orange County’s Measure M is holding steady, according to a poll by Sacramento research group J. Moore Methods.
The polling company said Tuesday that 69% of 1,500 likely Orange County voters interviewed would back renewing Measure M, the OC’s half-cent sales tax for transportation projects. Support for Measure M renewal was 71% last fall.
The telephone survey was conducted in late July and has a margin of error of 2.6%.
The survey was funded by the Orange County Transportation Authority, which assigns Measure M funds to different projects.
Measure M was approved by voters 15 years ago and is expected to provide $4.2 billion for transportation improvements in OC during its 20-year life.
The measure expires in 2011 unless it is extended by at least a two-thirds voting majority before then.
OC voters could vote on an extension of Measure M as early as November 2006 if OC cities and the Board of Supervisors agree.
The J. Moore Methods poll also asked which projects are at the top of voters’ wish list. Ranking high was the “Orange Crush” congestion at the Sana Ana (I-5) Freeway and Riverside (91) Freeway interchange.
The poll found that the public’s awareness of Measure M has increased from 40% last November to 53% today.
In September, the Orange County Transportation Authority plans more polling to gauge opinion on a number of transit projects, including improvements to bus and rail service.
