Road users were instrumental in early efforts to develop and maintain roads. As road agencies were formed to manage the networks of roads developed, the role of the users decreased. In recent years, users and other stakeholders have begun to re-assert influence in the road community. This is already affecting the allocation of resources for our work; it affects how we go about accomplishing our work; and it often determines how much time a road project will take from the planning stage to when the road will finally be opened to traffic. This is the global trend of «users' perceptions» that has changed the environment from one of the road agency «knowing best» what needs to be built, to one where the road agency increasingly is concerned with providing service to the customer - the customers being the users and stakeholders. This report explores the identity and the interests of users and stakeholders. The need of bridging the expectation gap between road users and road managers is addressed and some methods to bridge the gap are presented. Additionally, as the focus shifts more and more from construction to operation of mature networks of roads, it is clear that the road agency of the 21st century will need to integrate users' perceptions into road management to improve service quality. As the interests and needs of the users and stakeholders become more apparent, complexity and conflicts appear. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach to road planning, construction, and management. Moreover, there are tools that will have to be employed which include better user surveys, partnering with the private sector, and new technologies, such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS) which will bring users and stakeholders into the decision making process. Once a mechanism is in place for incorporating users' perceptions into the decision making process, user constituencies can make cost-benefit comparisons for themselves and will likely be more satisfied with the end product. It is clear that users and stakeholders' expectations of road officials and road agencies are changing and increasing. This fact along with the fact of maturing road networks will require road agencies to develop the organisational structure and the technical and professional skills to respond effectively. The different technical training and experiences required, and the different external groups that road agencies will have to interact with, indeed partner with, are explored as well. The Cross-Linking Theme Session at the Congress on users perceptions will bring further non-traditional perspectives and ideas for consideration. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118727.
Abstract