A new survey, published by Transform Scotland, has revealed that a majority of Scotland's population want the Government to prioritise the repair of the country's existing road network over the construction of new roads.

For the study, respondents were asked, 'Do you think the Scottish Government should give priority to fixing the existing road network before building new roads?', with 84% saying 'Yes', with just 7% disagreeing.

By repairing the existing road network, the survey said cyclists, motorists and pedestrians would benefit, as would businesses that use the routes as journeys would be more comfortable and safe. It would also strengthen the Scottish economy, with the repair and maintenance work more likely to be delivered by Scottish firms, thereby creating local jobs. Other benefits are said to include reductions in local air pollution through less stop/start traffic, and greater progress to reduce carbon emissions from Scotland's transport sector.

Audit Scotland has previously reported the cost of ensuring Scotland's existing road network is in good repair is around £2.25bn, just a quarter of the £9bn the Scottish Government has committed to spend on new roads. Transform Scotland now said it will try to gather public support for that aim by launching its 'Fix It First' campaign.

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Commenting on the findings, Phil Matthews, Chair of Transform Scotland, said: "This survey clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of the Scottish public want the Scottish Government to prioritise repairing and maintaining our existing roads over building new ones. The people of Scotland want the Scottish Government to 'Fix It First'.

"Scotland's existing roads, cycle paths and pavements are in an increasingly poor state of repair. Markings are deteriorating, pavements are damaged, and potholes are all too common, slowing down and diverting journeys, contributing to pedestrian, cyclist and motorist accidents, and resulting in expensive injuries and repair costs for travellers. Scottish roads are considered to be amongst the worst in the UK."

He added: "Over the last five years, while the Scottish Government has increased the roads budget by 40%, there has been an ongoing failure to tackle the road maintenance backlog. That's just not good enough. And the current financial settlement has led to Scottish Local Authorities not having the funds available to repair and maintain roads.

"There is obviously no shortage of money in the Scottish Government's road infrastructure budget, the problem is it's all directed to build new roads instead of repairing and maintaining the ones we've already got.

"Furthermore, far too little is being spent on making our roads and pavements safer for those who want to leave the car at home and use active travel methods such as walking and cycling instead."

The 'Fix It First' campaign can be found here.

(JP/IT)