WORCESTERSHIRE’s new highways chief has vowed to crackdown on roadworks which cause ‘endless delays and disruption to motorists’.
Coun Alan Amos was named the new cabinet member for Highways and Transport at Worcestershire County Council on Thursday (May 25).
And speaking to the Observer before his appointment was confirmed, the county councillor for Bedwardine hailed his new role as a ‘huge responsibility and challenge’.
“Highways and transport are one of the county council’s top three priorities,” he added.
“Some tough decisions will need to be taken to ensure that people can travel around more easily in the future for work and leisure.
“As a driver, walker, and bus and train user myself, I fully understand and share the daily frustrations of the general public.
“Initially, I will want to focus on some of the more obvious areas that need improvement. Often, we can make noticeable improvements by concentrating on and dealing with the more local problems, in addition to the big schemes to improve the strategic road and rail networks throughout the county,” he said.
Coun Amos said he would seek tighter control over roadworks that ‘take too long’
“They cause endless delay and disruption to motorists, especially when the utilities come along, dig a hole in the road and then disappear for weeks without actually doing anything,” he added.
The outspoken county councillor also said he wanted to improve communication between his department and local residents.
Coun Amos said he would seek to tackle the main bottlenecks throughout the county in a bid to ease congestion.
“We need to be much more realistic about future housing developments and will have to tell developers to provide more parking space on them, particularly in urban areas,” he added.
“We need and deserve much more reliable and passenger-friendly bus services, plus real-time information boards at bus stops so people know when/if the bus is coming or not.”
