An expert transport group has questioned whether the Government’s £15bn investment in the strategic road network will in fact “increase congestion on the overall journey and local roads, particularly in urban areas” (localgov.co.uk).
The money, confirmed in the autumn statement earlier this week, will be used to improve the strategic road network in a bid to provide safer and less congested roads.
The Localgov.co.uk report says the money will be used to “build a core network of smart motorways centred on connections between key cities… within a decade”, and to dual a number of key A-roads.
The Local Government Technical Advisers Group (TAG) is quoted as saying: “There is a substantial weight of evidence to show that enlargement of such roads increases traffic substantially within a relatively few years.
“TAG believe that a large number of the projects will, after a fairly short time, increase congestion on the overall journey and local roads particularly in urban areas.”
Councillor Peter Box, transport spokesman at the Local Government Association, added: ‘It is time to stop treating our strategic road network in isolation. Increasing motorway lanes and improving A-roads alone won’t ease congestion but will only speed up cars between growing delays and traffic jams on local roads.”
Click here to read the full Localgov.co.uk report.
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Surprising though it might seem, the record shows that miles per annum per vehicle, about 12,000, has hardly changed since records began in 1950. Also that traffic growth of about 10% pa in the early 190’s, has dropped to 1% pa or less.
Now that most people who want cars have them, and most people drive as much as they need to, growth will remain low indefinitely.
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