5. PROGRAM EVALUATION (continued)

Neighborhood surveys were mailed to half of a sample of residents of each of the six study neighborhoods in two waves – before the start of the program and following the completion of the program in Peoria and following installation of roadway treatments in Phoenix . Pre- and follow-on returns in Peoria were 58.1 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Comparable returns for Phoenix were 60.2 percent and 63.4 percent . This is an extremely high response rate for a mailed survey, particularly one addressed to “Resident.” This high response suggests an interest in the subject of speeding and a population willing to assist a neighborhood safety program.

All neighborhoods in both cities exhibited a significant increase in follow-on awareness of program publicity except for the Clarendon neighborhood in Phoenix , the neighborhood among the six with no neighborhood association or vocal spokespeople and a large number of Spanish-speaking residents. It is curious that Clarendon respondents did not indicate increased awareness because there was increased enforcement in the neighborhood that resulted in significantly lower speeds (see below). In the balance of the studied neighborhoods, there was a significant increase in awareness of publicity related to speeding with three neighborhoods showing a doubling or more in the percentage of people indicating they were exposed to publicity on speed control.

The specific publicity item that received the largest proportion of follow-on mentions judged to be definitely or probably related to the program in both cities consisted of the program signs with reports ranging from 52.1 percent to 82.7 percent of the respondents) except Clarendon where the percentage was 12.5. Flyers, bulletins, and newsletters were also mentioned, as were mail/letters, meetings, and newspapers, although the mentions for some neighborhoods were not large.

With regard to police involvement, the specific activities mentioned most frequently and considered to be definitely or probably program related were visible enforcement (ranging from 51.1% to 62.7%) and radar checks (ranging from 13.7% to 46.2%). Deployment of the speed trailer was noted in all Peoria neighborhoods. The photo speed enforcement trailer was noted in the Moon Valley neighborhood of Phoenix .

With regard to roadway treatments, signs again were mentioned frequently by respondents from all neighborhoods except Clarendon. In addition, respondents in each neighborhood noticed the roadway treatments that were installed in that neighborhood as part of the program. For example, speed humps/tables were mentioned and classified as definitely or probably related to the Heed the Speed program by 91 percent of the respondents in the Bell Park neighborhood of Peoria and in 52.6 percent of the respondents in Moon Valley; 3-D markings by all neighborhoods in Peoria and in Moon Valley in Phoenix; and pavement treatments ( Tyregrip™ ) by both Sweetwater and Moon Valley respondents in Phoenix. A small number of respondents in each community noticed the tubes used by the program to measure neighborhood speeds.

Respondents were asked to rate the speeds in their neighborhoods compared to six months ago. With the exception of Clarendon, all neighborhood respondents reported a perceived decrease in speeding in their neighborhoods in the last six months.

An evaluation of each survey respondent's form led to the judgment that a large proportion of the survey respondents had definitely or probably been exposed to the Heed the Speed program. Thus, there was significant evidence from the survey that the countermeasure program was active and successful in conveying its message. This suggests that there is a basis for attributing any significant speed reductions in the test neighborhoods across the study period to the effects of Heed the Speed.