Campaign update

CPRE is campaigning nationally and locally for transport policies which reduce people's need to travel and promote good public transport. We campaign against inappropriate road-building schemes and against a presumption in favour of road building as a solution to traffic growth.

Cutting clutter
We are campaigning to urge local highway authorities (your County Council, Unitary Authority or Metropolitan Borough) to avoid urbanising the countryside through excessive use of road signs, markings and poorly designed street furniture.

Combating the presumption in favour of road-building
In July 2006, we published a report, Beyond Transport Infrastructure which showed that roads do not provide the congestion relief they are built to bring. In fact, they generate new traffic, as well as devastate beautiful landscapes and cause noise and light pollution.

Arguing for policies that reduce the need for travel
Decisions about land use and transport are often taken in isolation from each other, though transport is needed where people live and work, and the presence of a road often brings pressures for housing and industrial development. We have written a report, Back Together Again which explains how transport and land use can be re-united to support more environmentally sustainable lifestyles.

Policies that put the countryside back into transport policy
The Government's focus is on tackling congestion on the inter-urban road and rail networks. Our briefing, Putting the Countryside Back into Transport Policy, explains how this focus misses significant issues that threaten the character and tranquillity of the countryside.

Keeping rural lanes rural
CPRE helped to develop a Quiet Lanes designation, now part of the Transport Act 2000, to solve the problem of excessive traffic on quiet rural roads. Designating a Quiet Lane emphasises the road's use by cyclists, walkers and horse-riders, and allows local authorities to impose lower speed limits. Quiet lanes encourage people to access schools and local shops on foot or bike rather than by car, thus combating rural traffic and congestion. You can read more about this in our publication CPRE's Guide to Quiet Lanes.