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With the Government seeking public sector spending programmes to be initiated ahead of schedule as recession looms, Lord Jones backs calls for short term rather than long-term measures, and said the focus should be on infrastructure and not employment.
Lord Jones suggested ” productive spending on infrastructure programmes” which will enable enhanced productivity of airports, ports, railways, roads and public sector workers whom the country relies on like nurses and teachers.
However, he also advises caution on channelling too much money into big projects, which could end up damaging the economy further. The Foundation would certainly agree that transport infrastructure has an important role in keeping the economy moving and mobility a possibility. We await the pre-budget announcement with interest…
Road Pricing, could be part of the solution to the nation’s transport problems according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) ‘The state of the nation: Transport’ report, launched yesterday.
A poll commissioned by the ICE found that 60% of the UK population think that road user charging is fairer than car tax, when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions and improving transport.
The Foundation has long supported a national system of road pricing, to help elievate congestion, provide a better transport network and refocus the cost of motoring onto use, rather than the ownership of cars. Since the infamous No. 10 petition in early 2007, which attracted over 1.8 million signatures against the concept of road pricing, there has been little political or public support for the idea, but this new research signifies that opinion is changing once again.
Source: ICE – http://www.ice.org.uk/state_of_the_nation/index.asp
Today is Ride to Work Day, an event promoted by the motorcycle community to highlight the congestion-busting potential of motorcycles and scooters – and to encourage those bikers who normally only ride at weekends to use their bikes for work as well as leisure.
The RAC Foundation is a great supporter of the motorcycle as part of the transport mix. In urban areas motorcyclists and scooters are part of the solution to congestion, while in rural areas a bike or scooter can make it possible for young people and those on low incomes who can’t afford a car to have access to the work or educational opportunities that car drivers often take for granted. The motorcycle or scooter offers the flexibility and convenience of the car, while causing less congestion and, for the vast majority of models, less pollution.
One simple measure that would encourage motorcycle commuting and improve safety is allowing “powered two wheelers” to use London’s bus lanes. The unedited Transport for London study showed that there are safety benefits for bikers, pedestrians and pedal cyclists so it’s a real disappointment that the pedal cycle lobby remains vehemently opposed, on what seems to be ideological and emotional grounds, to this safety move. Boris Johnson made opening the bus lanes a manifesto pledge and the Foundation hopes he will stick to his guns on this one.
More of Britain’s roads could be designed with the safety of motorcyclists in mind thanks to a new website launched today.
For the first time, the award-winning Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers Guidelines for Motorcycling are available online at
www.motorcycleguidelines.org.uk.
Broken down into individual chapters it explains how motorcycles need to be considered in policy, design and maintenance, parking and road safety.
Motorcycling is an increasingly popular alternative to the car, cutting congestion in urban areas and providing low-cost mobility in rural areas . Advantages of the motorcycle include independence and mobility; greater access to employment opportunities; and shorter journey times in congested traffic conditions. However, the specific needs of motorcyclists must be taken into account in the design, operation and maintenance of the road environment if road safety is to be maximised.
The website, funded by the Department for Transport and IHIE with support from the RAC Foundation, provides authoritative and practical advice to highways engineers and traffic managers on how to engineer a safer transport environment for motorcycles, mopeds and scooters.
The Government’s Motorcycling Strategy, published in February 2005, set out a plan of action to improve the safety of motorcyclists by facilitating motorcycling as a choice of travel within a safe and sustainable transport framework. The Motorcycling Guidelines website has been created as part of this Strategy.
Launching the new site, Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said:
“This website makes the excellent IHIE motorcycling guidelines available to the widest possible audience. Projects like this show the real benefits of the Government’s Motorcycling Strategy, which has brought together a range of expert groups all working towards making motorcyclists safer.
“Motorcyclists are one of the most vulnerable groups on British roads today. They account for just 1% of all road traffic, but for 20% of all those killed or seriously injured. That is why the Government is fully committed to reducing motorcycle casualties and in our Motorcycling Strategy we outlined a series of measures to reduce motorcycle casualties and improve conditions for motorcyclists.”
Sheila Rainger, Acting Director of the RAC Foundation, said “We are delighted to support the Guidelines for Motorcycling website. The motorcycle plays an essential role as a congestion-buster in our cities and an affordable transport option in rural areas. Making the IHIE Guidelines for Motorcycling on available on the internet will help to create a safer environment for riders.”
Hard Shoulder running is a sensible use of existing capacity. But it is not a substitute for a long-term strategic approach to the UK’s road transport needs.The Secretary of State says wider use of hard shoulder running will add 800 lane-km to England’s motorway network. But the RAC Foundation’s report, Roads and Reality, concluded that an additional 600 lane-km of capacity is needed each year to meet the needs of the economy and people’s desire for mobility.
If motorway charging is to be introduced it must be for genuine new capacity, not a part-time spare lane created by opening the hard shoulder.
High petrol pump prices will do little to disuade the 18 million cars which are due to hit the road this festive season according to reports out today.
New research from the RAC suggests that 49% of Christmas drivers are intending to cut the number of journeys they make as the average litre of fuel is costing 10p more than it did a year ago. However, even though 58% of motorists are expected to drop one or more family trips over the next ten days planned engineering works on the railways is likely to create even more traffic on the roads.
The good news is that there are only 66miles of contraflow, lane restrictions and other bottlenecks will be effecting 10 motorways over the Christmas preiod as the Highways Agency have taken pro-active steps to reduce distruption on the roads at this busy time of year.
Fog and another freeze is also threatening to hamper the great christmas getaway starting this afternoon as zub-zero temperatures set to create difficult driving conditions.
The busiest time of year on the roads, is never an easy one for those travelling to visit family and friends, but good planning and a well stocked soundtrack for potentially difficult trips will go a long way in making difficult trips more bearable.
Source: The Guardian Friday 21st December 2007, The Times Friday 21st December 2007.
Today saw the release of Road File 2007/08 from the Road Users’ Alliance (RUA); an edition which clearly highlighted the paucity of motorways in the UK in comparison to other EU countries.
The RUA Road File stresses the adverse impact that a lack of road capacity is having and will have on the UK’s economy, as well as safety and the environment.
On the economy, the effect that an insufficient motorway network will have on foreign investment was raised, as was the problem of congestion on business productivity, echoing Eddington’s research that congestion costs the UK £7-8 billion a year.
Public demand for more roads was also an issue which the Road File could not ignore, reminding us that in terms of cost, time and convenience, the car comes out a winning option. Unfortunately for car lovers, this high demand is simply not being met in the UK, whereas our European neighbours appear to have quite a bounty of highway…
A comparison with Germany:
- Motorway density: For every 1000km2 of land in the UK, there are 15km of motorway. In Germany, there are 35km of motorway.
- Share of GDP on building motorways: In the UK, for every billion dollars of GDP, there are 2km of motorway. In Germany, there are 5.5km.
Question: Is it right that £45 billion is collected from motorists every year, yet only £7.5 billion is spent on roads? - Ratio of motorways to cars: The UK has 8,000 cars for every km of motorway. Germany has half the number of cars for every km.
So, the pressing question from the RUA- why can’t the UK build more roads?
If the road network capacity is not increased, congestion will have to be reduced by other means. One suggestion, of course, is road user charging, which in turn would produce revenue to help fund the construction of an increased road network.
In research conducted by the Department for Transport, over half of those questioned (55%)said they believed that the amount of £ motorists pay should relate to how often, when and where they use the road.
Finally, the creation of motorways can bring about both environmental and safety benefits:
- Replacing a 2 lane road with a motorway would decrease carbon monoxide emissions by 48%, nitrogen oxide emissions by 61% and CO2 emissions by 26%.
- Motorways are 5 times safer than single lane roads.
The Department for Transport’s figures from their Road Traffic in Great Britain for the third quarter of 2007, show that while cars are slowly disappearing, vans are multiplying.
In the last year, traffic levels rose by 1.1%- the catalyst?- a huge growth in vans! The presence of vans increased by 12% in the last year, while 1% of car drivers bowed out of taking to the road- or indeed- swapped their cars for vans!
The overall increase in traffic, combined with short term factors such as road works and adverse weather conditions, led to the average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys increasing 0.38 minutes per 10 miles.
When looking at motorways and urban A roads however, there was a reduction in traffic of 1% and 3% respectively.
The end of October was rife with announcements, a key one being DfT’s pledge to investigate the extension of the M42 hard shoulder running scheme to the Midland’s motorway box and other areas throughout the UK.
Motoring groups have welcomed the move as a good way to combat congestion at key bottlenecks across the country. The Foundation believes that hard shoulder running is a suitable approach to take on a limited number of motorway bottlenecks, but to work it must be well supported by the types of infrastructure inplace at the M42 pilot scheme to ensure safe operation (i.e. over head signalling, CCTV and interactive lane changing) . It must also be well communicated to the public, to ensure that there is a good understanding of where the scheme will be extended to and that it is not something that anyone can do anywhere when the roads start to get busy .
On its own, the Foundation believes that hard shoulder running is a temporary band aid for the wider problem of congestion. It is one in a package of solutions that can make a difference, but it must not be used instead of increasing road space and capacity, where there is good reason and a need to do so. Peak time congestion problems maybe solved by this approach, but if a road is at capacity throughout the day, another approach will be needed.
(Source: DfT release)
Want a stress free life? Move to the Big Smoke!
January 2, 2008 in Comment, Congestion, Mobility | by fionacoyne | Leave a comment
More and more London workers are deciding to move nearer their places of work so as to avoid long, stressful and expensive commute.
Previously, people felt that their expensive and tiring commute was traded off with lower rent or mortgage repayments, but now, the tables have turned.
Living in Central London – the trade-off;
Benefits:
Costs:
When the benefits are presented they really are tempting to take up, so will the suburbs empty out? Watch this space…
Source: The London Lite 5th December 2007