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Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Road-building debate stoked by transport report

30/03/2010

A report on the UK's major road network has reignited the debate about road-building, as both motoring groups and sustainable transport campaigners claim it supports their agendas.

While the Transport Select Committee's publication, The Major Road Network, acknowledges the central importance of main routes in the overall transport infrastructure, it adds that the committee does not support a "significant expansion of the major road network".

And stating that roads "should form part of broader and integrated strategy for transport", it argues that attention should be focused on improving existing capacity by reducing congestion.

This could be done through active traffic management - such as hard shoulder running or flexible speed restrictions - or through reducing or redistributing peak demand. In particular, the report says, it is essential that the Government communicates the reasons for using such measures, noting that they are "poorly understood by the public and can lead to frustration".

However, the committee raised concerns about the maintenance of roads, particularly at a local level, and called on the Department of Transport to make difficult decisions that would ensure value for money as years of austerity in public spending beckon.

In January, the Campaign for Better Transport criticised the Highways Agency - which is responsible for the UK's motorway and trunk road network - for "gambling" on inaccurate forecasts for its road-building decisions.

Nevertheless, the report has been seized upon by motoring charity the RAC Foundation - which submitted evidence to the committee calling for more road-building. It praised the committee's suggestion that "wherever possible", the 900 miles of single-carriageway trunk roads should be upgraded to dual-carriageway.

Last month, business group the British Chambers of Commerce had also called on the Government to ensure a "decade of road-building" to drive UK growth. It outlined 13 essential schemes - 10 of them road projects - which would bring the most benefit to regional economies.

However, Richard George, roads and climate campaigner at the Campaign for Better Transport, told Admiral News that "the committee is right to conclude that the solution to congestion is better panning, not new capacity".

"Eighty-five per cent of congestion is in urban areas, and we're not about to start bulldozing town centres to lay motorways through them," he added.

"Instead, we should focus on providing people with decent, affordable public transport and making streets more attractive to walk and cycle, to give people the confidence to leave their cars at home."