Hull City Council released the findings of its citywide transport survey, which allowed everyone to weigh in on the city’s roads’ future.
In August and September, residents were asked to complete the survey online or to return paper copies sent to every household in the city.
A record number of people responded to the council’s call for help. There were 22,068 surveys completed, with 17,623 returned by postal mail, 4,229 online, and 216 at engagement events.
People were asked whether they believed Hull’s roads had gotten worse, stayed the same, or gotten better over the past two years.
There was a greater likelihood that the things listed had gotten worse for all four key transportation groups (motorists, cyclists, public transport users, and pedestrians).
Some other key findings from respondents to the survey were:
The significant majority said congestion and journey times had got worse over the past two years, across all key transport groups. More than 70% of residents said they felt consulted “poorly” or “very poorly” over recent changes to bus lanes and cycle lanes.
Most people said the main cause of the problems was roadworks/road improvement works. When asked about Hull’s bus lanes, most people were of the view that the operating hours should return to peak times in one direction, rather than remain all day in both directions.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they believed that the cycle lanes and the new bus lane operating times had contributed to increased congestion.
Councillor Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council, said:
“We have listened to what the people of Hull have had to say, and there are some very clear messages. What people will want to know now is what we are going to do about it.
“So today, we want to let everyone know exactly what the council is doing to address some of the major concerns people have raised.
“Some of these things the council is already working on, some we will accelerate and some we will begin to explore in response to the public feedback.
“The view among people who responded to the survey seems to be that bus lanes should return to peak times in one direction. As a result, I have already instructed officers to prepare a report detailing options and implications for consideration by Cabinet at the earliest opportunity.
“We are also committed to making cycling safer by improving our off-road cycle network. Much of what the council did in the past was about the quantity of on-road cycle lanes. Going forward our focus will be on quality rather than quantity, and on safe, properly segregated off-road cycle lanes as well as action to tackle congestion on our roads.
“The first thing we will do on this front is get out there and clean up the cycle tracks. Issues like cleanliness and glass on the existing cycle tracks are clearly significant issues for a lot of cyclists and people who want to cycle more”
“Many people feel they weren’t properly consulted in the past. This survey, along with our transport summits and other engagement events, demonstrates our commitment to making sure people feel they are being listened to. This is how we intend to carry on.
“However, the council can’t fix the transport problems alone, nor can we do it overnight.
“We will be working closely with our transport partners, as well as major employers and stakeholders across the city to make the city’s transport network work for everyone, as well as achieve our environmental aims.
“Over the next few years, and after the completion of National Highways’ huge A63 Castle Street project, we believe we can have a vastly improved transport network.”
