 13 February 2008
The massive transport challenges facing the UK need to be tackled in ways that allow us to make informed choices about how we travel and without leaving us feeling guilty about enjoying it, according to a new CSS report whose recommendations include a long term shift to hydrogen-based fuels.
The Travel Is Good report looks ahead to life as it will be in 2030 and warns that without imaginative solutions, cohesive leadership and sustained investment, we face a gridlocked and polluted existence. Global warming could also lead to our infrastructure crumbling in the face of extreme heat, floods and violent storms. The report has been produced by CSS, which represents top local authority strategists responsible for three-quarters of the road network of England and Wales as well as for other travel, environmental and energy issues.
CSS President Richard Wills says that success can only be achieved by avoiding alienating the travelling public and recognising that travel is one of life’s joys. “The daily impact of traffic on our cities, towns and villages is of concern to many, but we are deeply attached to the freedom and opportunities offered by our cars,” he says. “These challenges require ambitious responses. All too often, however, a gloomy picture of restraint and diminishing choice has been painted as the only solution, which turns ordinary people away from serious consideration of the issues that face us.”
The study involved a series of select committee-style hearings at which evidence was given by leading transport experts. The project was led for CSS by Edward Chorlton, Director of Environment, Economy and Culture with Devon County Council. He says: “We started from the premise that travel is good and that it enriches our lives. The pressures of an expanding population and economy mean that travel is often dire and we have to find ways to avoid it becoming greatly worse in the years ahead.”
Key recommendations include a call on the Government to “stay the course” in implementing road pricing and congestion charging tolls, but the report says there should be up-front investment first in alternative travel choices, and transparency on how generated revenue is to be spent. As a pre-requisite to charges, the study proposes mandatory studies to assess the potential knock-on effect when drivers divert to other roads.
The report warns that public tolerance of road hold-ups becomes stretched when there is no way around them or when they are unpredictable and excessive. It also points out that, with travel patterns changing towards more leisure and personal trips, congestion will occur beyond peak hours and in new locations.
Road gridlock can, says the report, be reduced through sustained investment to increase the capacity of the national and local rail system, and a relaxation in the stringent design standards for light rail schemes whose widespread introduction has stalled due to cost.
The report accepts that climate change is a reality and says that Mediterranean weather could increase travel both to and within the UK, resulting in added congestion problems. It warns that flooding and falling trees will be a growing threat to the transport infrastructure. It also says there is potential for sudden structural failures resulting from subsidence, heave and landslips due to soil saturation and the scouring action of rain and rivers.
Calling for greater investment in making the transport infrastructure more resilient, the report suggests increasing the diameter of drainage systems and changes in road structures to resist intense heat. Recognising that passenger heat exhaustion on the London underground is a real threat in temperatures of up to 40ºC, it calls for air conditioning across all public transport.
The report says that the challenge in reducing reliance on hydrocarbon fuels while not compromising the economy is a major one, and that the short-term aim should be to achieve greater fuel efficiency through vehicle improvements and “eco- driving”. It also backs investment in new technology to inform the driver of jams and in greater opportunities to work from home.
In the longer term, CSS believes there is no realistic alternative to hydrogen fuels and that sustained investment is needed in efficient production methods, delivery and storage. CSS calls on the Government to put in place legislation and financial incentives to make the hydrogen-based economy a reality. The report does not regard biofuels as a viable solution on the scale required and points out that they would be competing for limited land with much needed food crops.
The report insists that we should not forget the need to create a better “public realm” based on recognising that streets are for people and roads are for vehicles. It says that increasing vehicle movements over the past 50 years have turned many streets into “drive-throughs” and generally blighted the environment for people. The fear is that if we don’t invest in better street environments, people, businesses and shops will all move to the edges of towns and cities, so creating new travel problems.
Leadership is recognised as a major issue if we are to resolve our travel challenges. The report says that attempts to develop and implement nationally integrated transport policies have often foundered due to the lack of cohesive leadership and sustained investment. There has also been a failure to integrate transport with other areas of Government policy. Uncertainty about the future has been used to justify putting off tough decisions.
“We need a fresh approach to leadership with a focus on long-term transport planning which is outcome-based and maintains mobility while reducing the impacts of travel,” says Edward Chorlton. “We believe the Government has got to provide leadership by example on road pricing.”
He added: “There is a big job to do to win the hearts and minds of the people over changes to transport habits. But that doesn’t necessarily mean yet more regulation and control. We have to ask ourselves whether now is the time to manage traffic by encouraging social responsibility rather than by simply tinkering with the road network.”
The full CSS Travel Is Good report is downloadable from the CSS website www.cssnet.org.uk/downloads/Travel-is-good-Feb2008.pdf.
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Note to editors:
CSS represents local authority chief officers who manage some of the most pressing issues facing the UK today. Originally known as the County Surveyors' Society but now simply as "CSS", membership is drawn from all four corners of the United Kingdom. Members are responsible for three-quarters of the road network, two thirds of the land area and just under half of the population of England and Wales. Operating at the strategic tier of local government, they are closely involved in crucial transport, waste management, environment, planning, energy and economic development issues.
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