You can't build your way out of congestion. Submitted
by: Jim on Apr 09, 2006
Campaign opposes M1 widening work Source
7th February 2006
Protesters are launching a campaign opposing plans to widen
the M1 in part of the East Midlands.Sections of the M1 between
Leics and South Yorkshire will be extended to five lanes in
a £1.9bn project. But the "No
Widening of the M1" group said the move would generate
more traffic and increase pollution levels.
The Highways Agency is to expand three-lane sections into
four with an additional crawler lane on hills for lorries
to use.
'Journey reliability'
Sam Brown, of the opposition group, said: "You can't
build your way out of congestion. "It's been proved by
the government's own transport white papers that increasing
the capacity of roads does not reduce congestion.
"In fact it increases the amount of traffic - which
has been proved recently by a study on the Newbury bypass
where traffic has increased by 50% in the first five years
of it being built."
A public consultation exercise is to begin in the spring
on the widening of the motorway by one lane (an extra four
lanes through in LFE) between Junction 21 at Leicester and
Junction 30 at Chesterfield.
Tony Turton, of the Highways Agency, said: "Journey
times are predicted to rise on this particular section between
50% and 60% by 2030.
"This project will create additional capacity to allow
that traffic to flow efficiently.
"The main aim is really to improve journey time reliability,
improve roads user safety and reduce driver stress."
Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2007.
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