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Pothole plight is getting worse says the AA

Nine in 10 motorists say that road conditions are worse now than a decade ago according to a survey by the AA. Two thirds of drivers think that roads have ‘considerably deteriorated’ over the last ten years and 42% rated residential streets as ‘poor’ compared to 34% just 12 months ago.

With the exception of London, every region of the UK reported a worsening of the condition of trunk roads from spring last year to spring this year. More than 17,500 members of the motoring group were surveyed.

“It is clear that despite all the talk from central and local government, not enough is being done to fix our increasingly dangerous streets,” said AA president Edmund King. “Our potholed roads are in a perilous state. The current lack of proper investment on local roads means that highway authorities are doing little more than papering over the cracks.”

The survey also found that more than half of motorists in Scotland said residential streets were in a poor condition, up from around a third last year. A similar increase was seen in the proportion of drivers in the south east reporting potholed residential roads.

Local Government Association transport spokesman Martin Tett said: “Councils are fixing a pothole every 19 seconds despite funding pressures. They want to do more but are trapped in an endless cycle of patching up our deteriorating network. Only long-term and consistent investment in local road maintenance can allow councils to embark on the widespread improvement of our roads that is desperately needed.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We have listened to the concerns of road users and are already providing councils in England with over £6bn to help improve the condition of our local highways. This funding includes a record £296m through the Pothole Action Fund, enough to fix around six million potholes.”

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