Dan and Bex are finding out what makes a great road and today they’re learning how the best roads are kind to the environment.

Road strategists in Scotland have committed to putting electric charging points in every East Lothian town centre and at strategic points along the main roads, allowing drivers to make a quick top-up in under 30 minutes. They’re also planning for every village to have its own 4-hour charge point. 

Trees help shield houses against the light and noise pollution from the road, as well as exhaust fumes. Barriers to reduce pollution and noise can be made from all sorts of materials but plants and trees do an excellent job, as well as being pleasant to look at!

There’s lots of ways that road designers can reduce things like the amount of energy street lighting uses. They can make the lights go off at certain times of the day, use lower energy bulbs or even make use of reflective materials like cats eyes which use no electricity at all!

Repairing and improving the roads uses fewer resources than building brand new ones. And by using modern materials which last for a long time, the road will need fewer repairs in the future.