Helping National Highways understand the social impact of road bypasses

Road bypasses can significantly impact local communities, introducing substantial changes to the local infrastructure that result in both positive and negative effects. National Highways sought to understand the social impact of road bypasses on local communities. To achieve this, specialist development consultancy Arup, in partnership with the University of Leeds, led the project and Qa were commissioned to undertake quantitative surveys and focus group recruitment.

Approach

University of Leeds and National Highways identified two locations with existing road bypasses and one location with a proposed bypass. Qa managed cognitive testing of the post-bypass survey drafted by the University team, conducted face-to-face surveys across the three locations, and recruited residents to attend 3 focus groups with the University team to explore issues from the survey in more depth.

Outcome

Our expertise managing and conducting face-to-face quantitative surveys, and recruiting focus group participants, enabled Arup and the University of Leeds to gather valuable insights from residents affected, or likely to be affected in future, by a road bypass. The University team analysed these insights to determine the social impact of road bypasses and shared these findings with National Highways.

For more information contact:

Richard Bryan  Managing Director
richard.bryan@qaresearch.co.uk
01904 632039

Photography: Photo by Tom W on Unsplash