A new poll by 1000 Friends of Maryland suggests Marylanders overwhelmingly support stronger state action to steer development to existing communities.  In a telephone survey in June of 1,000 registered voters, the poll finds most Marylanders believe that development and growth are occurring too rapidly and are affecting their communities negatively.

The Sun reported the poll in a story today by colleague Nick Madigan.

Though the poll was commissioned by an advocacy group for more compact development, it echoes findings of a survey done two years ago by The Sun, which also found most residents unhappy with the pace of growth in their communities.  Respondents asked to list their most serious concerns ranked traffic congestion near the top, trailing crime, drugs and gangs and pollution of Chesapeake Bay.  Lack of affordable housing, loss of farmland and poorly planned growth and development also ranked high on the list of concerns.

This poll, aimed at nudging the O'Malley administration to follow through on its pledge to reinvigorate Smart Growth, finds large majorities favor state government stepping in to coordinate growth decisions by municipalities and counties. The respondents also favored spending more on transit to ease their greatest concern, traffic congestion, even if it meant spending less on upgrading roads.

You can read the summary of the poll here.

What do you think? Is growth a major concern for you? Up there with the budget deficit, as this poll suggests?  What, if anything, do you think should be done?