[sustran] fwd: UK local authorities and green transport

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

A UK story from the pednet list

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Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 20:48:21 +0100
From: Geraint Jennings <geraint at itl.net>
Subject: pednet: From today's Sunday Times - pushing drivers off roads

This message sent to pednet by Geraint Jennings <geraint at itl.net>.

May 30 1999       


  Councils to push drivers off roads 

        by Stephen Bevan 


 HUNDREDS of miles of high streets and main roads are to be declared
car-free zones under radical green transport policies being drawn up by
local authorities. 

 Among the more radical measures aimed at making life difficult for the
motorist are "intelligent" traffic lights that detect pedestrians and hold
cars until they have crossed; pelican crossings that change as soon as a
button is pressed - ending the current wait - and "smart" bollards that
sink into the road to allow buses through, but that rise up to block
oncoming cars. 

 The aim of the policies is to make car use so expensive and journeys so
time-consuming that motorists will swap their vehicles for cycling, walking
or public transport. 

 Other measures are designed to hit Britain's 26m car owners where it
hurts, such as Wiltshire county council's proposal to abolish car park
season tickets and a plan by the seven West Midlands councils, including
Birmingham, to charge a £250 tax on company car spaces. 

 The measures emerged from a Sunday Times survey of local authorities - the
first attempt to draw a national picture of the changes and their effects. 

 Stephen Joseph, of Transport 2000, a green lobby group, said the plans
signalled an end to the domination of the car. "A lot of people use cars
but they don't like them when they dominate towns and cities. This
represents a sea change where cars will be on tap but not on top." 

 Perhaps the most controversial plans are those to ban cars from many town
and city centres. 

 The trend is well advanced in most big cities. Birmingham has
pedestrianised a quarter of its city centre and plans to convert another
20%, while Liverpool is considering extending its scheme. 

 Smaller towns are following these examples. In Essex, the county council
plans to close 25 miles of road to motorists, banning cars from Brentwood
and Clacton town centres. Elsewhere, Dorset will be pedestrianising six
miles of roads and Durham city is planning more bus-only streets. 

 In areas where cars cannot be excluded they will be slowed to a crawl by
measures such as traffic lights that favour pedestrians and cyclists, road
humps and rough surfaces that give an uncomfortably bumpy ride except at
low speed, and increasingly tough parking rules. 

 Devon and Bedfordshire county councils are among the leaders in such
schemes with plans for traffic lights that not only change as soon as
pedestrians press a button but which also stay red for longer than a
pedestrian needs to cross. Bedford town centre has been pedestrianised and
further schemes in the region are being considered. 

 Many councils are combining a policy of persecuting the car with
encouragements for benign modes of transport. Bromley is proposing free
shower facilities for cyclists while Liverpool plans more free supervised
bike parks. 

 Some cities are, however, moderating their approach. In Manchester the
council is closing off a number of main streets to cars, but only during
the day. The council was concerned that deserted streets could be a
temptation to criminals at night. A spokeswoman said: "People feel safer
with cars passing by instead of it being purely pedestrianised." 

 Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth, said such local initiatives would
achieve only modest results. He said: "The government expects 25% more cars
on our roads in 10 years' time than now and we need a national target for
road traffic reduction." 

 Additional reporting: Cathy Cooper, Andrea Perry 


 
 
 ===================
Distributed for purposes of study and research
in accordance with the fair dealing provisions of the 1988 UK
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. So there.




      *****************  Geraint Jennings  *******************
     Artist, Teacher, Green, and general all-round good egg
                               geraint at itl.net
      *************  http://user.itl.net/~geraint/  *************