 Alliance against road building |
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Alliance against road building |
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PRESS RELEASE – 1st December 2006
EDDINGTON TRANSPORT REPORT UNDERMINES CASE FOR THE WEYMOUTH
RELIEF ROAD
Responding today to the Eddington Transport Study [1] Road
Block said that the case for the Weymouth Relief Road had been further undermined.
The report emphasised that the strategic economic priorities for long-term transport
policy should be on urban areas, key inter-urban corridors (such as between
Leeds and Manchester), and international gateways such as Heathrow. The Eddington
report concluding that road pricing, not roadbuilding, will solve congestion,
and that a national road pricing scheme would remove the economic case for roadbuilding
by 80 per cent.
Road Block called on Dorset County Council to withdraw its highly damaging and
controversial plans for the Weymouth Relief Road, and instead invest in the
types of smaller schemes the Eddington report concluded were much better value
for money .
The Eddington argued heavily for a road pricing scheme and concluded that:
"Provided it is well targeted, a national road pricing scheme of this type
could... reduce the economic case for additional strategic road infrastructure
by some 80 per cent" [3]
Road Block welcomed the study, especially the importance it attaches to recognising
the economic costs of the environmental impacts of transport, and that smaller
projects such as cycling and walking are much more economically attractive.
The report said:
"It is certainly clear that returns are lower on the very biggest projects.
As a result, it can often be sensible to invest in a collection of smaller,
high-return, projects rather than a single large one" [4]
Rebecca Lush, Coordinator of Road Block said:
"The case for the Weymouth Relief Road has been further undermined by the
Eddington report which concludes that big road building is bad value for money,
and bad for the environment. Dorset County Council would do better by investing
in low cost sustainable alternatives to address congestion problems in Weymouth.
The Relief Road would increase congestion in Weymouth and destroy the beautiful
landscape setting that makes Weymouth so special."
Transport Research Laboratory in its study for the Countryside Agency concluded
that the road scheme would actually increase long term congestion in Weymouth
and provide only short term relief. The Council's Environmental Statement for
the planning application shows that 3000 households would be adversely affected
by noise.
The Weymouth Relief Road is the most destructive road approved by the government,
damaging the South Dorset Ridgeway in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty, Southdown Ridge in the Area of Local Landscape Interest, the Dorset
Wildlife Trust’s Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve and Ancient Woodland in
Two Mile Coppice in the Lorton Site of Special Scientific Interest. In addition,
the tranquillity of these areas and the surrounding countryside would be destroyed
with high-speed traffic noise.
Notes to Editors:
[1] The Eddington Transport Study
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/eddington_transport_study/eddington_index.cfm
[2] Executive Summary, paragraph 1.109
[3] Executive Summary, paragraph 1.100