Give the Motorists a Chance to express their views on Congestion
Posted by Freethinker on Thursday, 08 March 2007 13:52:07
Dear David Cameron,
Now that you have stated that you are against the introduction of a blanket road pricing scheme and spy in the car tracking gizmos, the argument from the Labour /Lib Dem Anti-Car mafia is going to be "If we don't have this, then all transport will grind to a halt with one huge jam up from Lands End to John O' Groats." Obviously, this whine is only to be expected as they see the prospect of their expected 28 BILLION POUNDS Cash Cow fade away.
In spite of what Blair or any other Anti-Car anorak says, it is MOST INTERESTING to observe that the government's own Eddington report DOES NOT recommend the introduction of road charging on a nationwide basis.
The Eddington Transport Study, The case for action:
Sir Rod Eddington's advice to Government.
Clearly states in section 9. "there is little strategic case for action in all places. To meet its economic goals for transport, Government should prioritise action on those parts of the system where networks are critical"
also in section 12. there is clear advice AGAINST Spy in the Car Gizmos...
"large projects with speculative benefits and relying on untested technology, are unlikely to generate attractive returns." As this debate rages on, it becomes more obvious that Local Councils and Government, far from being a cure for congestion, in most cases are the CAUSE of it, their theory being, if enough congestion can be created by the use of Traffic Calming, Speed Bumps, and lunatic Road Narrowing schemes, then a need for Congestion Charging can be introduced as yet another excuse to extort yet more money from the motorist.
For those who may not be aware of how the Anti-Car Con works, here is a brief outline, I'm sure with a little thought it will be recognised Nationwide.
The Council (with government funding) selects a perfectly good road where traffic has flowed freely for the last forty years. This is a terrible situation and must be stopped.
First, all parking facilities are removed and double yellow lines are put in place, next, sections of pavement are extended into the middle of the road under the Traffic Calming banner. Traffic light controlled pedestrian crossings are sited at strategic points, safe in the knowledge that they will hardly ever be used by pedestrians.
At the points where the road is reduced to half the original width, Bus Stops are sited, to ensure that it will be impossible for traffic to move in any direction while the one remaining lane is blocked by buses.
If all the above does not produce the required congestion, great mounds are placed in the road disguised as so-called "Speed Bumps". At all major junctions, traffic lights are installed, set to sit on red for long periods to build up a good queue of standing traffic. If this queue can be extended to cack up the previous set of lights, this will be seen as an extra bonus in the fight to create congestion !
Having brought all traffic to the required standstill, a couple of phone calls later, as if by coincidence, along comes the anorak with the pollution measuring kit to perform yet another "Royal Commission" report which then proclaims that the pollution on this section of road now exceeds the EU limit and is making people ill !
"We told you so," whines the Council, "if we don't take action we will face a heavy penalty, it's these damned motorists causing all the congestion and pollution, the only answer is for the Council to take steps to introduce Congestion Charging everywhere so that we have enough money to pay for all the reports and to pay "experts" to think up ways to make congestion even worse, so that we can continue to milk this Cash Cow for years to come !
All that said, there can be little argument that congestion Is a major problem that does need solutions, so to this end I would like to start the ball rolling with a few ideas that might help without the need for a megamillion pound investment. Perhaps others would like to express their views and ideas and possibly through reasoned debate we may come up with a workable answer.
IN THE CITY
People do not sit in traffic jams because they wish to contribute to congestion, they sit in jams because they have no alternative !
They have no alternative because there is no adequate public transport system !
What is needed is secure car parking facilities at more city park and ride stations at reasonable cost, say £2 per day inclusive of fare.(any shortfall to be made up from fixed penalty income etc.)
Public transport that actually goes where the user needs to go, without the need for a change of bus/tram/train.
Drivers who need to enter a town/city during a peak period must have a guaranteed parking place available at their destination. ( no more driving round causing congestion while looking for a non-existant place to park )
More city centre secure car parks need to be provided for those who wish to enter the city throughout the day.(tourists, shoppers etc.)
Peak periods should not become clogged up with children, more schools should be located outside the city with separate school bus facilities available, as it is fairly obvious that when schools are on holiday, there is little or no congestion.
An alternative would be for schools to begin at 10.00 after the work rush hour, the hours lost could be made up by schools opening on Saturday mornings.
Adequate secure parking should be made available at all public service buildings/hospitals, free or at reasonable cost, NOT £10- £12 long term as charged to the staff / visitors at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary ! (and the proposal to reduce this to £ 7 should receive the contempt it deserves.)
Get rid of all bus lanes and so-called "greenways"
Traffic lights at major junctions must be made to work properly, ie. a few seconds run on green only causes congestion.
ALL speed bumps and road narrowing schemes should be removed, at best all they achieve is an increase in pollution from slow moving traffic and do nothing to prevent accidents.
Jay walking pedestrians should be HEAVILY FINED for faffing about in the middle of the road, often only a few steps from a pedestrian crossing, and should be trained to use the roads in a responsible manner before they are allowed out on their own. The highway code applies as much to pedestrians as it does to motorists !
MOTORWAYS AND MAIN TRUNK ROADS
City by-pass and motorway entry and exit slip roads should be built in preference to traffic light controlled roundabouts, the object being to keep traffic moving, NOT to bring the flow to a complete standstill, the prime cause of traffic build up.
More freight should be transported by rail, all heavy trucks entering the mainland from Europe ( or indeed any other HGV ) bound for final destinations in the north should be loaded onto railcars as used by Eurotunnel trains, and transported by rail.
OK, these ideas might not solve the problem overnight, but they are at least as good as any other ideas currently on offer, remove Government meddling and Council lunacy and the motorists will sort the rest out by themselves, either by re-timing their journeys or re-locating. I'm sure all motorists will have a view on how to solve this problem and it's only by listning to their ideas that an acceptable workable solution will be found. Any government trying to do a "Blair" saying "THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL PAY" without prior consultation will only face fierce resistance, and rightly so !
Freethinker, Edinburgh.
Environment, Politics