Highways Moving in Right Direction, Survey Says

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 stood at 61 per cent in 2006, an increase of 11 per cent since the department first began surveying in 2001.

The satisfaction level is based on survey responses of "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" as opposed to "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied."

"It's reassuring that the public sees us as heading in the right direction," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Angus MacIsaac. "These surveys are a useful tool in helping our department spotlight the areas where we need improvement."

For the first time the survey asked about satisfaction with winter road-condition information available from the department. Half of the respondents said they had contacted the department for information and 94 per cent said they were "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied" with what they received.

"We've put a lot of time and effort into upgrading our road-condition-reporting methods and I'm happy that our improvements have found such favour with the public," said Mr. MacIsaac. "We're continuing to explore other methods that will help keep the motoring public informed."

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 survey indicated that filling cracks and potholes, snow removal during and after storms, and improved pavement markings were the most important jobs performed by the department.

The 2006 customer-satisfaction survey was conducted by the Marketing Research Centre and is based on telephone interviews with 2,072 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 department's website at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/publications/HighlightsNovaScotia2006.pdf .