Some 42 km of the A66 trunk road within the lake district national park have been upgraded by the construction of a single new 7.3 m carriageway and by-passes around Keswick and Cockermouth. A series of interview surveys with people living in or visiting the area were conducted in 1973, before upgrading work had started, and repeated in 1977 and 1978, after upgrading had been completed. The study was designed to investigate people's perceptions of the impact of these changes on the two towns of Keswick and Cockermouth and on the surrounding countryside. The results of this study suggest that the changes to the A66 were regarded as having been of benefit to both resident and visitor and that the potential adverse effects of such a major upgrading programme in a rural area were not widely experienced. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting