§ 29. Mr. Grimondasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what progress is being made in the elimination of raised kerbs and the provision of more road space by reducing verges and unnecessarily wide pavements on roads under his control.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterWhere new kerbs are necessary it is my general policy to provide flush or splayed kerbs. I am 1108 proposing to send out a circular to highway authorities in the next two or three weeks containing advice on this point. It is the normal practice to widen substandard roads when resurfacing, if sufficient verge width is available.
§ Mr. GrimondDoes that answer mean that while the new roads are to have this new type of kerb the Minister is unable to take away some of the dangerous kerbs which are on existing roads?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIt is not a question of what I can do in respect of a large number of roads which are the responsibility of the highway authorities. What I am doing is to amend substantially the advice given by my predecessor some years ago on the subject of kerbs, which I have no doubt the local highway authorities will find helpful.
Mr. C. I. Orr-EwingIs the Minister aware that recently many of the arterial roads for which he is responsible have been provided with these high, steep and dangerous kerbstones, and that we cannot wait until they wear out? Should he not rectify the matter at the earliest possible moment in order to reduce the accident rate and the seriousness of it?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI can assure my hon. Friend that I dislike all vertical kerbs except where they are rendered necessary by the overwhelming importance, for local reasons, of preventing vehicles getting off the roads, for example, in the case of a footpath. I share my hon. Friend's general approach on this matter and, as I have indicated, I am trying by means of this circular to get some improvement on past practice.