Top South East county for highways and transport satisfaction
12 November 2012
Hampshire remains the top performing county in the South East for residents' overall satisfaction with highways and transport, according to the annual National Highways and Transport (NHT) 2012 Public Satisfaction Survey.
Residents across the country were asked to rate their local authorities on a number of categories relating to highways maintenance, transport provision and road safety.
Of all county councils nationally, Hampshire County Council improved two places to fifth position in overall satisfaction with highways and transport. In highways maintenance, Hampshire was rated second out of 22 county councils.
It scored well in the 18 categories which included public satisfaction with road surfaces, fixing potholes and quality of repair to damaged roads.
Hampshire residents who responded to the survey thought that the speed of repairs to damaged roads and pavements, and treatment of roads during cold weather had markedly improved from last year.
They are also pleased with accessibility and how they can get around to school or college, hospitals, banks or shopping, ranking Hampshire second out of 22 counties.
Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council, said:
"We strive to deliver quality service for the residents of Hampshire so I am very pleased that we have retained the first place in our peer group of South East county councils. With traffic from ports, an airport and key motorway links, plus a large population going about its day to day business, Hampshire's roads are under constant pressure.
"These results show that the condition of highways remains the top priority for Hampshire residents, and that our asset management approach to the county's roads, which has seen millions of pounds invested in Operation Resilience, is the right thing to do. This long-term strategy means our roads are in better condition and more resilient to the push and pull of extremes in weather, as well as increasing volumes of traffic, though we recognise there is still a lot to do across Hampshire.
"The survey shows there's room for improvement when it comes to public transport information, and that residents are also looking for improvements in congestion on the roads. With the Government funding we've received, the My Journey work will put in place measures to encourage more people to make their shorter everyday journeys by bus, cycle, car share or walking. We have also been successful in getting some further Hampshire roads schemes into the national "pinch-point" programme, so I hope that we will see more improvements in these areas in the future. We do recognise that congestion is a key challenge for a road based economy like ours.
"There are many positive outcomes from this survey and the results provide a useful source of data and an indication of what really matters to people. This, in turn, helps us to prioritise what we need to do and allocate the available funding."
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