TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND ST ALBANS HOUSEHOLDS EXPRESS THEIR ANGER AT THE STATE OF THE ROADS AND PAVEMENTS

9.12.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 2nd Jun 2009

St Albans Liberal Democrats have released the detailed results of a massive survey of local residents' concerns at the state of roads and pavements. The survey was delivered to over 36,000 households in St Albans and the surrounding villages.

"There was an unprecedented response," said Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for St Albans, who co-ordinated the survey. "Nearly 2,500 households completed and returned the two-page questionnaire. They came from all areas and from across the political spectrum. It was a collective cry of rage at the dangerous condition of so many roads and footways and at the visual pollution caused by shoddy patching where any repairs are carried out.

"86 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the condition of the local roads, and 66 percent named specific roads that are so bad that they pose a real danger to users. Some of these feature so often that we can list them in a 'Herts Highways Roll of Dishonour.'

"64 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the condition of local pavements and footways, and a startling 29 percent of those completing the surveys reported falling over, sometimes with quite serious injury. They all expressed their rage and frustration with what had happened to them.

"Many people wrote long letters with detailed descriptions of incidents and general issues. They were not just car drivers. The survey was completed by pedestrians, cyclists, mobility scooter users, residents using wheelchairs, mums struggling with prams and buggies.

"I have never known any single issue strike such a chord with local residents," Sandy said.

"We have prepared a detailed dossier with a statistical analysis of the surveys and a mass of quotations covering the real experiences of local residents from across the city and the villages. When we know the name of the new person in charge of roads and highways at County Hall after Thursday's elections, we will be presenting the dossier to him or her and demanding immediate action to get a grip on Herts Highways' woeful performance."

Related Link:

2009 St Albans Roads and Pavements Survey Dossier