M1 (Traffic Congestion)

HC Deb 28 November 1988 vol 142 cc417-9

3. Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on new measures to relieve traffic congestion on the M1 motorway.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

The opening of the M40 extension from Oxford to Birmingham will bring relief to the Ml between London and the M6. In addition, we are planning improvements to junction 1, a climbing lane at junction 9 and widening between junctions 23A and 24.

Mr. Janner

What will the Minister do to relieve the additional congestion which his announced measures will undoubtedly bring? Does he not realise that travellers on the M1 are afflicted by chronic, disgraceful and dangerous congestion, which leads to delays? In particular, will he please take steps to alleviate the congestion at the exit from the M1 at the city of Leicester?

Mr. Bottomley

My answer to the hon. and learned Gentleman's point is yes and we aim to provide traffic signals at junction 21 as a matter of urgency. With regard to his first point, the hon. and learned gentleman was a supporter of a Labour Government who, between 1974 and 1979, exactly halved spending on new national roads in real terms.

Mr. Marlow

As the only time that one can assess the journey time on the M1 these days is at the time of day when no one actually wants to travel on the M1, and as at any other time of the day one is beset by chronic congestion, could my hon. Friend, instead of saying that it is a terrible situation and no doubt the M40 will improve the situation, actually ask the Government, either to reduce economic growth so that we have less traffic on the road or, if he does not want to do that, produce the roads so that we can drive down them? We do not have them at the moment. Will he take whatever powers are necessary and get on with it?

Mr. Bottomley

I think that this is one of the occasions when I say that I do not know. I shall consider what my hon. Friend has said.

Mr. Tony Banks

What is the point of relieving traffic congestion on the M1 if cars just get into London quicker and then run into all the problems that we discussed in response to the first question today? Surely it is about time that the Minister realised that there is no coherent transport policy in his Department. Frankly, the Government Front Bench is in as much of a shambles as transport in our capital city.

Mr. Bottomley

I believe that the hon. Gentleman might discover from the next question that the M1 does more than feed commuter traffic into London. This is a far more serious issue than the hon. Gentleman has ever shown any sign of being aware of.

Mr. Madel

When will repairs to junction 8 by Hemel Hempstead be completed? At present, they are causing great chaos. Once we have dealt with junction 8, can we look forward to a period of no repairs on the M1 between Bedfordshire and London for a reasonable space of time?

Mr. Bottomley

The answer to my hon. Friend's first question is early December. In response to his second point, yes, we can look forward to that, but because so much of the road reconstruction work was not carried out under the previous Labour Government, we are having to catch up.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Does the Minister still subscribe to the departmental view that motorists must accept that journeys will not get quicker, but, if anything, become worse? That is what his Department says. Does he accept that the travelling public are heartily sick of congestion on the motorways and of ministerial excuses? Does he also accept that the idea of a good card fast lane for executives is ridiculous? The idea of means-testing motorways could come only from the present Government. Let us have some real planning for both public and private transport.

Mr. Bottomley

If planning is anything like that of the last Labour Government we shall not get very far very fast. Spending on new national roads rose by 30 per cent. in real terms in the first nine years of this Government, and is now planned to increase by another 20 per cent. If the thinness of the Opposition's arguments needs to be hidden behind the views of the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd), the sooner that he gives way to his hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Snape) as transport spokesman, the better.

Mr. Tredinnick

Is my hon. Friend aware of the chaos that gripped the midlands motorway system on Friday? Will he now consider the possibility of a second M1—an Ml-super—which could be funded by the private sector?

Mr. Bottomley

Obviously, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has asked the Department to review the motorway and trunk road network, and we shall be doing that. It would be nice to be able to get rid of more of the congestion between the cities, but let me say to those who were held up on Friday—or have been held up on other occasions—that it is necessary to get the right perspective. I am fed up with reading newspaper reports with such headlines as: Death Crash Causes Rush Hour Chaos". We should be aware that often we are held up because another human being has lost his life in a road accident.