More Highway Users Satisfied

Improvements to provincial highways are leading to more satisfied motorists, according to a customer satisfaction survey by the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

Satisfaction with the provincial highway system has been increasing since 2001. Sixty-three per cent of residents felt very or somewhat satisfied with the provincial highway system. That is 13 percentage points higher than in 2002 and 2001, and four points higher than in 2003.

"Drivers have demanded improvements to their roads and that's what they are seeing," Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell said today, April 20. "The results of this survey reflect our department's commitment to excellent service, and the increased highways budget each year over the past five years."

The department's capital budget has more than doubled since 1999, and another $15 million has been added to road maintenance.

Nova Scotians ranked filling cracks and potholes, ice and snow removal, storm cleanup, and pavement markings, as the most important highway services.

"The survey is a report on the department's performance and is very useful for our planning and decision making," Mr. Russell said. "Ultimately, it helps us to improve the delivery of our services."

On the topic of road safety, 98 per cent of respondents agreed that it was most important that drivers be more careful and responsible. They ranked highway improvements (95 per cent) and increased spending on highways (93 per cent) next in importance.

More than nine of 10 residents were somewhat or very satisfied with the highway cameras on the Transportation and Public Works' website. The department receives about 150,000 weekly visits to the highway cameras page www.gov.ns.ca/tran/cameras/camera/asp .

In total, respondents were asked to rate 17 different aspects of provincial highways, from the number of four-lane highways to the timeliness of a cleanup after a storm.

The 2004 customer satisfaction survey, conducted by the Marketing Research Centre, is based on telephone interviews with 2068 residents of Nova Scotia, 16 years of age and older. A random sample of this size provides a sampling error of plus or minus 2.15 per cent with a 95 per cent confidence level.

The survey is available on the website at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/publications/HighlightsNovaScotia2004.pdf .

The Department of Transportation and Public Works highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains an inventory of 4,100 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Staff provide services from district offices located in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.