Motorists are feather-bedded

Mr King wants more space for traffic. How? By removing pavements and/or knocking down buildings on both sides of roads like Green Lanes and the Hertford Road at a time when London is crying out for more housing? The idea is nothing short of fatuous, and in any case road space attracts cars to the point of insanity as many American cities found when multi-lane freeways became clogged to a standstill.

In London, the only way forward is for more of those of us who don’t have mobility problems to use the excellent public transport, get on a bike, or walk more often, just as several north-western European countries have already begun doing. In the process we will reduce obesity, improve health generally, improve air quality, give kids back their independence, give local high streets a better chance of surviving and, in residential streets and high streets especially, improve quality of life.

Apparently more than 80 per cent of car journeys in London are driver-only against a background of ever-bigger cars travelling short journeys, which could be cycled or walked. That’s a lot space for one person, especially where speed above 20mph is permitted; cars at speed need a lot more room than when driven slowly.

Finally, amazingly, Mr King claims that motorists more than pay their way via licence fees, petrol tax and the like. Nonsense. Most money for providing carriageways, traffic signals and controls, policing, fire services, NHS costs from accidents and poor air quality, vibration and substance damage to buildings, come from general taxation or, rarely, third party payment. To put it bluntly, motorists are feather-bedded.

David Hughes

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