The issues

New technology can give drivers better information about congestion.  Photo (c) CPRE

The Government has allocated billions of pounds to finance road building over the next decade. These roads will harm the countryside and the communities they are intended to serve. All too often building new roads or widening existing ones is seen as the solution to congestion and a way to promote economic growth. But there are some undeniable facts about roads:

• Roads generate more traffic and congestion. CPRE’s report Beyond Transport Infrastructure found that in 2006 traffic levels on major new roads had passed or nearly reached the level predicted for 2010. Even the Department for Transport now accepts that traffic growth on new roads can be as much as 10% per year.
• Roads are high-carbon infrastructure.  With legal targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, spending taxpayers’ money on schemes that will lock us into further growth of carbon emissions is more than just a waste of money, it is positively counterproductive.
• Roads permanently damage the character and tranquillity of an area. Not only is the direct “footprint” of the road destroyed but a much wider area is affected by increased noise and traffic, and communities can be split apart.
• Roads bring further development pressures. Once a new road has cut through the countryside there is pressure to build industrial and residential estates nearby. These generate traffic and may require more new roads. Thus, building one road can rapidly urbanise a rural area.
• Regeneration is a two-way street. CPRE’s report Roads to Regeneration shows that regeneration claims are inflated and in fact road building is just as likely to suck investment out of an area as bring it in.
• Roads don't help everyone. Over a quarter of households in Great Britain and 15% of households in rural areas don't have a car.  Even those who do have access to cars benefit from a range of transport options.

Rural roads under pressure
Rising levels of traffic and a proliferation of traffic signs are turning once peaceful lanes into urban thoroughfares. According to the Department for Transport’s 2008 Statistics, motor traffic has been increasing on minor rural roads the most, with an increase of 11.2% since 2001, compared to 9.3% for motorways and 6.7% overall.

Speeding traffic is a particularly dangerous problem in narrow, winding rural roads and in tranquil villages. Cars often share rural roads with walkers, horse-riders and cyclists. Combining these users on a single rural road can have fatal consequences, and encourages car use for short journeys because people are too fearful to walk or cycle.