Bill Midgley column

Jul 19 2006 By Bill Midgley, The Journal

If I continue to travel to London as often as I do then I shall be accused of having a southern bias rather than that of my northern homeland. But such trips do have some illuminating experiences and perhaps there are some lessons from them that can be learned so far as our own region is concerned.

In this context I make no excuses for returning to the thorny issue of transport, and more particularly the movement of traffic. The congestion charge has been with us for some time, particularly so far as London is concerned, and is obviously an issue which has been considered by local authorities, including some in the North-East.

What struck me as being interesting, or more likely alarming, was the fact that traffic now moves more slowly in London than it did before the introduction of the congestion charge, which perhaps we need to remind ourselves is now the massive sum of £8 per day. It is not that traffic levels have increased to their pre-congestion charge levels, but we are seeing vehicles move at a pace that would have been unacceptable 100 years ago, i.e. something in the order of 7mph, and less than 3mph on The Strand, as a result of the policies being adopted by the London Council - more bus lanes and the iniquitous practice of ensuring that there are even greater traffic jams created by the judicious use of red traffic lights.

In other words, a deliberate move to disenchant those who have the temerity to use their vehicles for business and/or pleasure.

Like it or not, the motor vehicle is an essential part of the movement of goods and people, and a means of making business more efficient. We appear to concentrate far too much of our activities on the negative aspects of traffic, rather than a positive approach to see how we can make it move more quickly.

The major cities of the North-East have problems because rivers run through or close by, and inevitably bridges and tunnels create bottle-necks. However, what we do need is the development of the "can do" philosophy towards traffic flows, rather than the all too familiar attitude of looking for ways to drive vehicles off the road.

There are environmental issues which I accept must not be ignored, but there is also a balance between the maintenance and creation of employment and such issues; never an easy equation.