58% of local councillors agree that budget cuts are having a negative impact on roads and road safety, with one in four councillors strongly agreeing, according to a survey conducted by the IAM.
The survey shows that improving road surfaces and reducing potholes is the top priority for local councillors. 74% of councillors placed potholes in their top five road safety priorities, while 61% think that the budgets for repairing them will decrease or stay the same.
Almost half of councillors surveyed think that road safety targets should have been kept, and 58% agreed that budget cuts are having a negative impact on roads and road safety, with one in four councillors strongly agreeing.
Other findings included: 59% of respondents support 20mph speed limits, with 15% supporting 20mph for most urban roads; and 29% think that the Government’s policies have been bad for road safety.
Simon Best, IAM chief executive, said: “It’s good to see that potholes are councillors’ top priority as this is a big concern for motorists. More must be done to fix our roads before the backlog of repairs becomes unmanageable.
“The results show that different political parties offer the electorate real choice on their transport priorities. Conservative councillors are more likely to focus on road building, road surfaces and car parking, while Labour councillors appear to be more likely to prioritise road safety and the use of public transport. Liberal Democrats are more likely to focus on cycling and walking.
“Councillors say that road safety is a priority so they must put up a stronger fight to protect road safety budgets. It’s also clear that there is a need to set up smart new targets that will help everyone in road safety focus on the highest risk groups in society.”
Contact the IAM for more information.
Were the conclusions decided before the councillors were even surveyed? They say “It’s also clear that there is a need to set up smart new targets” despite the fact that most councillors did NOT think “that road safety targets should have been kept”.
Also, does the survey confuse “road safety” budgets with “automated law-enforcement” budgets?
Dave, Slough
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Any statistics to show what effect potholes have on the accident rate? Unless we are working with a solid set of data, surveys like this one are a complete waste of time, money and effort.
Duncan MacKillop, Stratford on Avon
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