People are being given the opportunity to make their feelings known on the state of the region’s roads.
A survey on the condition of local transport routes and footpaths, and the service provided by Dumfries and Galloway Council, has just been made available.
Members of the public are invited to have their say on the condition of roads and repairs service – after what has been a particularly frustrating issue for residents throughout the region. And Castle Douglas Community Council treasurer Martin Fortnum is expecting a big response.
He said: “It’s a bone of contention with a lot of motorcyclists, cyclists and car drivers. It’s caused problems for quite a considerable time. It’s just a shame they can’t get more money to do more repairs as some of the repairs they did in King Street and Cotton Street made a big difference but there’s other areas that need to be sorted.
“I know the councillors try their best to get things done but their hands are tied.
“We haven’t had a meeting this month but it regularly crops up about the state of the roads, be it in the town or the countryside. Some of the town streets are terrible. I know they’ve been patching up some of them but it’s literally just patchwork. Some of the roads need a bit more work doing to them, as do some of the country roads.
“I feel sorry for some of the folk on bikes as it must be horrendous.”
The survey, which is being carried out by the Association for Public Service Excellence, asks residents to rate the roads and transport service, including gritting and snow clearing.
Colvend and Southwick Community Council chairman Simon Pain said: “It has been a big issue but to be fair to the council they have started doing quite a lot of work and there has been a substantial improvement. I don’t know if that’s the same as in other areas.”
In March, the council stated that a three-year £2.4m investment was made to address the backlog of pothole and drainage defects across Dumfries and Galloway.
An additional £960,000 was to be ploughed in this financial year.
A council spokesman said: “All defects reported by the public are inspected and an appropriate repair will be considered.
The survey can be found at: https://crowd.in/lIkf6W
