What does this measure?

The condition of the pavement on roads, expressed as a percentage of miles rated "poor" in the NYS Department of Transportation's rating system.

Why is this important?

Pavement condition is a measure of the quality of infrastructure and affects wear and tear on vehicles, quality of ride, and maintenance and operating costs. Roads in poor condition are also less safe for driving.

How is our region performing?

In 2007, 11% of the lane-miles in roads rated in the region were in poor condition, more than double the 5% for the state. The region has had 10% or more of its road miles rated poor in each year since 2000, and has usually been roughly twice the state's rate. Since 2000, New York State has reduced its percent of poor pavement conditions by 22%. During that same period, Wyoming and Genesee counties decreased poor pavement conditions by 73% and 47% respectively, and Ontario and Livingston counties have increased by over 200%. Monroe County has typically had a significantly larger share of miles rated poor than in the surrounding counties, but it has decreased its proportion of poor conditions by more than a quarter since 2000.

Notes about the data

New York State Department of Transportation rates "federal-aid roadways" annually on a 10-point scale. A rating of 1-5 is considered "poor" with frequent distress that may be severe, 6 is "fair" with some visible distress, 7-8 is "good" with beginning signs of visible distress and 9-10 is "excellent" with no distress. Genesee Transportation Council, which supplements the DOT's ratings by inventorying additional miles in the region, estimates that roughly 95% of federal-aid lane-miles in the region are included in this analysis, and that an estimated 75% of all miles traveled within the region are accounted for by these ratings.