Nearly four out of five people expect to be notified about roadworks in their local paper while under three per cent would use a council website for such information, according to new research.
A survey carried out by GfK NOP showed that local newspapersare still by far the most effective way of informing the public about traffic changes.
The research backs up the Newspaper Society’s stance against government plans to remove the obligation on local councils to advertise “traffic orders” in local papers.
It presnted the findings to transport minister Norman Baker yesterday at a meeting to discuss the plans.
Ministers believe advertising roadworks online would save councils money, but the NS estimates the government’s proposals could cost the industry £20m a year.
When prompted, 79pc of all adults said they expected to be made aware of traffic changes in their printed local paper compared with 43pc who said they would expect a council website to carry the information/
Just 2.6pc of those surveyed said they had visited a council website to look for information about planned traffic changes.
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Someone correct me if I’m wrong but this appears to me to be hopelessly flawed analysis.
Do the public expect to read about major roadworks in their local newspaper? Well, yes!
Does this mean that they expect to read about it in a paid public notice advert? I’d say no, they expect it to be on the news pages.
The survey seems to have conveniently leapt to conclusion that suits the Newspaper Society’s desire for a taxpayer funded handout.
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