Policy Hub
On 17 November 2008, the Northern Way group published three reports which insist that any short term fall in traffic levels brought about by an economic slowdown must not be used as an excuse to avoid tackling the long term economic problems associated with congested roads.
The reports emphasise that, without intervention, already congested roads in northern regions could well buckle under increased pressure over the next twenty years, hampering the North's contribution to national economic regeneration.
The three reports argue that simply building bigger roads cannot avert a growth in congestion. They stress the need for greater use of innovative technology and 'smarter travel choices'. These choices include increases in car sharing and flexible work patterns.
The reports find that across the North's motorways, congestion makes all journeys 20% longer between 7am and 10am. They observe that this delay is set to increase further, since motorway traffic is projected to grow by over a quarter by 2031.
As a consequence, increased journey times and less reliable journeys will have a high economic cost for business travel, commuters and for freight.
The reports, prepared for Northern Way by consultants Steer Davies Gleave are:
Existing and future traffic and congestion on the North’s strategic road network
The role and productivity benefits of smarter travel choices