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Bike Lanes And Wal-Mart: New Yorkers Want BOTH
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 28, 2011
Modified Jul 28, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 28, 2011
Modified Jul 28, 2011
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A new Quinnipiac University poll suggests that New Yorkers would flock to a local Wal-Mart—and preferably on bicycles in dedicated bike lanes. 69% of all New Yorkers say they would shop at Wal-Mart if it was convenient, and that support for Wal-Mart does not diminish much among Democrats and union members either. 68% of Democrats surveyed said they'd shop there, while 64% of union members surveyed said they'd give Wal-Mart their business, despite the company's previous labor troubles, which include hiring undocumented workers and forcing employees to work off the clock.
Although over 50% say that Wal-Mart doesn't pay its employees enough, an overwhelming majority said they'd shop there. "Support for allowing Walmart to open in the Big Apple is growing, while the number of would-be shoppers remains constant at more than 2-1," says Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Voters agree with both the negative and positive claims made about the retail giant, but even in union households, New Yorkers say a bargain's a bargain." Or as Lenin put it, "Wal-Mart will sell us the rope with which they'll hang us."
Asked about bike lanes, more New Yorkers like them since the last survey in May, with 59% of NYC voters deciding that bike lanes are good "because they are greener and healthier, while 35% say they are bad because they increase traffic." (In the last survey, those numbers broke down 56% to 39%.) 60% of voters in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn are in favor of bike lanes, while in Queens 55% give bike lanes the thumbs up. Only in Staten Island are bike lanes unpopular, with 53% saying they are bad.
The poll also asked New York voters if they think the 9/11 Memorial Museum should be free, and, unsurprisingly, 75% said there should be no charge for admission. (The survey did not ask them to explain how the museum's operations should be financed.) And Quinnipiac also asked New Yorkers if public worker layoffs should be based on performance: 77% said yes, and even voters in union households back performance-based layoffs 66% to 25%. A wage-freeze was opposed by a margin of 57% to 33%.
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bike lane
bike lanes
new york city
poll
Survey
wal-Mart
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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