Communities want streets not transport corridors

Here's a letter sent early this morning before I went to work - 'Stroud Life' is The Citizen's new paper - they've also been giving it out free around the town today.

Cartoons courtesy of 'Local Scribbler Russell'

A big welcome to 'Stroud Life'. One issue I am sure future editions will cover is traffic. Indeed every local paper reports communities across the Five Valleys like Whiteshill, Randwick, Chalford, Nailsworth and more are trying to cut speeds while others like Painswick are petitioning to end huge HGVs thundering through their Parish.

The Citizen reports a 17% rise in county traffic between 1997 and 2006 - five percent higher than the national average (i). The forecast is 5.7m more cars on British roads by 2031(ii). For many, our roads are already "traffic hell". We know we can't go on like this. Traffic is destroying our communities, our health and our environment.

The government must end it's huge road building programme, which their own research shows only leads to more traffic. We should reward responsible motorists by abolishing the Road Tax, which provides no incentive for less polluting travel choices. Instead shift the responsibility onto fuel duty. Money can then be invested in good alternatives to driving (iv).

Forward-thinking Councils are planning town or Borough-wide 20 mph zones: a pedestrian has a 50-50 chance of surviving being hit by a car driving at just above 30mph, but a 95% chance at 20mph. Isn't this justification alone? Yet research also shows 20 mph leads to more pedestrians and cyclists using our roads.

We need a shift in thinking: 20mph should be normal. We need better road designs and enforcement, but most of all we need leadership to make it a reality. Communities want streets not transport corridors.

Cllr Philip Booth

Notes: (i) See The Citizen 18.01.08 (ii) See The Guardian: 'Warning of roads hell with 6m more cars by 2031' http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,2165914,00.html (iii) Lewisham Borough's full report 'Alternatives to Individual Car Use in Lewisham', which contains the committee's recommendations, can be found at: www.lewisham.gov.uk/overviewandscrutiny (iv) The 20mph speed limit was one of a number of measures to encourage people to ditch their cars and use healthier, safer and cleaner transport such as cycling, walking, car clubs and public transport. We also need new planning rules to guarantee showers in new workplaces for cycling employees, more tax-free loans for workers to buy bikes, expansion of free cycle training for children and adults, more parking for car club vehicles, and police must do more to tackle reckless motorists and cyclists.