Highways Agency report into MSAs

The Highways Agency has just published a report into the provision of motorway service facilities in the UK, and it’s worth reading if you’ve got a bit of time to spare. I was, however, much amused by these paragraphs in the National Report PDF:

There is no official database of MSAs available therefore it was necessary to perform a desktop study in order to identify the locations of such sites on the Motorway Network.

The desktop study used online aerial mapping sources to identify the locations of service areas on the Motorway Network. The information was then cross-referenced with conventional mapping to establish the names of the MSAs. Thus a comprehensive list of MSAs in England has been produced. As an additional check, information was cross-referenced with unofficial internet based guides to MSAs – motorwayservices.info and motorwayservicesonline.co.uk.

It’s nice to know that we’re providing a useful service to the Highways Agency!