Plans to build new roads will increase traffic

A new report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has revealed that road-building is failing to provide the congestion relief and economic boost promised, while devastating the environment.

Drawing upon previous research, The end of the road? challenges government claims that ‘the economic gains from road investment are beyond doubt’ and that road-building will lead to ‘mile a minute’ journeys.

The publication of the research coincides with Highways England plans to begin consulting on which road schemes will receive funding, set to triple to £3 billion a year by 2020.

Analysing how road building over the past two decades has repeatedly failed to live up to similar aims, the report finds that traffic increased much more in road corridors with new schemes than background traffic in the surrounding area. Furthermore, all new schemes put pressure on adjoining roads, while there were negligible reductions in journey times.

It reported that schemes completed eight to 20 years ago demonstrated a traffic increase of 47 per cent, and just one in five demonstrated any evidence at all of economic benefit.

Ralph Smyth, head of infrastructure and legal at the CPRE, said: “This landmark research shows that any benefits from road building are far smaller than thought but the harm much worse. The Road Investment Strategy needs to be reset – not receive three times more funding.

“Rather than looking to the past, the government must invest in a forward looking mobility strategy that puts quality of life ahead of the car. The government should reopen old rail lines, offer people travel options in town and countryside, and harness new technology to make more efficient use of road space. It should promote new housing on brownfield sites closer to jobs and services, rather than unleash car-dependent sprawl on green fields.

“We are seemingly stuck in an ideological traffic jam from which we cannot escape. Building ever bigger roads should be the last resort – not the default choice.”