Representatives of several road-user groups are being invited to tour local roads for a new kind of highway condition survey.
The research forms the second phase of a Roads Board project to establish what road-users really think of the state of carriageways and footways, and to relate their expectations to engineering standards.
Local authorities hope the work will ultimately lead to a consensus on the cost of clearing the road maintenance backlog (Surveyor, 15 May).
TRL will submit its interim report next month. This follows a dozen focus groups with a spectrum of road-users – from horseriders to mothers of young children – who recorded their impressions of specific roads before the MORI-facilitated discussions.
Project manager, Dr Vijay Ramdas, said the sessions confirmed that road condition was a public priority, but the relative importance of different aspects of surface condition varied widely.
The qualitative study is due to be completed by the end of the year.