Bristol City Council has spent more than thirty million pounds on maintaining roads in recent years

National World - LocalTV

It’s not just about comfort – poor road conditions can be dangerous, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.In Bristol, more than one in five people commute by bike, making it one of the UK’s top cycling cities

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00:00If you've driven, cycled or even walked around Bristol lately, chances are that you've noticed it.

00:12Our roads are in a bit of a state. From potholes to patchy surfaces, traffic snarl ups to broken signage,

00:18local residents have a lot to say, according to the latest department for transport data.

00:24In the UK when you're driving around what do you think of the road quality? Is there lots of potholes?

00:28Oh absolutely, and that wasn't the leading question because I was going to say it anyway. Really poor.

00:33And when you go abroad you really notice how much better the quality of the roads is.

00:37So yes it is poor. I once worked for the council and we had so many complaints about potholes actually.

00:43It was a real bugbear with people and that was years ago and nothing's changed. If anything it's deteriorated.

00:48Around one in six local roads in England are in poor condition and may need resurfacing within the next year.

00:55And Bristol streets are certainly not immune. But how bad is it really? We hit the streets of Bristol

01:02to ask the city what they think of Bristol's roads and whether enough is being done to fix them.

01:09I don't really drive but like you know when you get the bus which I do often it's like

01:15it's not super comfy all the time at least on the big roads like across the downs and stuff but

01:20that could be the bus or the road. In the last year Bristol City Council has spent more than 30

01:26million pounds on maintaining roads footways and bridges with thousands of potholes repaired across

01:34the city. But critics say that it's just not keeping pace with the wear and tear. In fact a recent report

01:40ranked Bristol among the worst UK cities for road quality with motorists facing high repair bills for

01:48damage caused by surface defects. Let's find out what locals think. And would you generally like

01:55more investment to be made in the roads then? Probably more investment in everything which I

02:00suppose is the predicament but it is a bit embarrassing now we've reached a point sometimes on my drive to

02:07work you're trying to dodge the potholes. I went to Lebanon after the civil war and there are potholes

02:11everywhere and I just joke now it's like driving through Beirut. It's not just about comfort poor road

02:18conditions can be dangerous especially for cyclists and pedestrians. In Bristol more than one in five

02:25people commute by bike making it one of the UK's top cycling cities but campaigners say that potholes and

02:32poor surface maintenance are putting riders at risk especially where cycle lanes have faded or are

02:38uneven or even blocked. But pressure mounting from residents businesses and commuters alike say is it

02:45enough? Bristol experiences notable road statistics including a significant number of road casualties

02:52that some people feel could be prevented with better roads.

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