SURVEY: Researchers want to know how you get around and how you shop

| Transportation | West Seattle news

The UW Urban Freight Lab has some questions for you, if you can spare a few minutes for a survey. Here’s how they explained it in their note asking if we’d consider publishing the survey link:

In collaboration with the Seattle Department of Transportation, we are currently running a survey of consumer shopping behaviors in West Seattle. Our goal is to understand how people shop, travel to stores, and make online purchases in 2022 and relate this information back to the transportation system. The survey should take about 5 minutes to complete and participants can enter into a drawing for a $50 gift card.

We went through the survey before publishing this; the questions we saw included ones about shopping and dining as well as how/whether the bridge closure has changed your transportation habits. It’s an anonymous survey and starts here.

Julia June 18, 2022 (5:15 pm)

I did the survey and found it frustrating. It didn’t mention COVID at all, which certainly had a lot of impact on my shopping, dining, and travel behavior.

Peter June 18, 2022 (5:29 pm)

How far did you get? It literally mentions Covid in the second sentence.
- Eileen June 19, 2022 (9:06 am)
  
  I went all the way through the survey and was also frustrated by the questions not connecting COVID to transportation choices. Some answers I used other and wrote a paragraph why.
newnative June 18, 2022 (5:46 pm)

Yes, I agree and it didn’t mention work commutes either. The bridge closure has affected my leisure shopping/travelling. The pandemic affected my commute more. Oh and the diminished bus service.
- AN June 18, 2022 (10:32 pm)
  
  The survey is fine. It specifically says it’s about shopping and food; it’s not interested in your work commute. And anonymous doesn’t mean it’s not going to ask demographic info which is generalized to understand distribution of responses. And it does indeed mention both the bridge closing and COVID in the 2nd sentence describing it. Oy…happy to help, UW students, you’re doing fine!!!

jl June 18, 2022 (5:42 pm)

I agree, very poorly written.

Person June 18, 2022 (5:56 pm)

I got halfway through and was creeped out by the information they wanted.

“Anonymous” except we want your cross streets, income, age ……

Anonymous June 18, 2022 (10:30 pm)

To enter for the gift card, they ask for your name, address and email. So its not an anonymous survey. I don’t do online shopping. I think it would be funny if the gift card is for Amazon.
- WSTB June 19, 2022 (7:25 am)
  
  The survey uses a common, respected platform to collect results. The info you provide for incentives is not at all tied to the rest of the answers you provide – it is impossible to connect them.

Sue H June 19, 2022 (3:01 am)

I also thought the survey didn’t do a good job of ascertaining whether some of our habits now were because of the bridge or the pandemic and I mentioned that in my comments. I do much more online shopping now or delivery of things because of the pandemic than I do because of the bridge closure, and I do not use public transportation now because of my high risk of covid so that also affects things and the shopping I would have done while on foot to her from a bus. Because of the bridge closure I almost never leave West Seattle unless I’m forced to for an appointment.

22blades June 19, 2022 (5:22 am)

I have little confidence in the integrity of this survey or it’s results. I have a problem with industry solutions with community issues cloaked in University labels… & I’m a Husky. The is not an exercise in academia. It has the feel of looking for an answer they want.” The UFL is a structured work group comprised of industry members, who are senior executives from retail and wholesale companies, logistics and goods delivery firms, and the City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).”

SLJ June 19, 2022 (8:03 am)

The survey was exactly what the said it was–about shopping behaviors. No need to ask about work commute. They ask for the cross streets, likely to look at transit options. And COVID was mentioned a few times. They only ask for your contact information for the $50 drawing. How else can they get it to you? I declined the drawing and they didn’t ask for my info. Great job UW students!

N June 19, 2022 (7:46 pm)

Reading the comments reaffirms my prior feeling that west seattleites really value privacy and want to be left alone to a large extent. And even more distrusting of commercial enterprises even though that’s where most residents make their very nice incomes.

Sunny.206 June 20, 2022 (9:49 am)

This seems like the start of the “Urban Villages” the city was referring to in the past transportation documents. As I remember the buses will take you to these shopping “hubs” and limit bus transportation beyond. I know White Center north of Roxbury was going to become one of the locations. It was also going to limit cars/parking there too.
- WSB June 20, 2022 (11:13 am)
  
  “Urban village” is a term related to land use; West Seattle’s urban villages (including Admiral, junction, Morgan Junction) have been designated and zoned as such for ~30 years.

anonyme June 21, 2022 (7:00 am)

If anyplace should have Urban Village-specific transportation options, it is West Seattle – but we do not. Arbor Heights has only an hourly weekday shuttle, and no service at all on weekends. I’ve long thought that WS needs its own shuttle, hitting the various ‘villages’. Seems like this would be of great benefit to West Seattle businesses.

Sorry, comment time is over.