§ 6.59 p.m.
§ EARL HOWEhad given Notice that he would ask His Majesty's Government, whether paragraph 93 of the recommendations of the Alness Committee has as yet received consideration, and if so, whether any decision has been arrived at. The noble Earl said: My Lords, I hope your Lordships will bear with me for just a moment if I explain the purpose of my question. The recommendation of the Alness Committee to which I refer says:
The Committee consider that it would be of advantage if the Ministry of Transport would select and subsidize a representative district as a show area. The extra expense of this experiment should not fall on the local rates. In that area everything of the best that is known should be introduced with regard to road surfaces, footpaths, pedestrian crossings, cycle tracks, traffic lights, general lighting, road signs, the treatment of acute bends and corners, and the elimination of crossings by constructing roundabouts flyover bridges or tunnels. It would be of assistance to all those concerned with road improvement if they were enabled to inspect and study such an area.I have put this question down because the Minister of Town and Country Planning has announced that he is going to 909 start new satellite towns at Crawley and Stevenage. Both these satellite towns will straddle communications. The one at Crawley will straddle communications to the south, both rail and road, and the one at Stevenage communications to the north, both rail and road. Both satellite towns will have a lot of traffic ancillary to them, and that will complicate the enormous amount of through traffic which there is bound to be. Therefore, it seemed to me it was urgently necessary that, if possible, these new satellite towns should be laid out on the most modern lines. It seemed to me it would be a good idea if these areas were selected as show or sample areas to illustrate exactly what can be done by really proper planning and the use of adequate forethought in the lay-out of our towns.
§ 7.2 p.m.
§ LORD WALKDENMy Lords, in reply to the very reasonable and simple question which the noble Earl had on the Order Paper, I had prepared a very brief and clear answer. I was not aware that he was going to make suggestions about new towns. However, I will endeavour to deal with the whole point as briefly as I can at this late hour. The answer to the question on the Paper is that the recommendation made in paragraph 93 of the Report of the Alness Committee, that the Ministry of Transport should select and subsidize a representative district as a model traffic area, is under consideration by the Committee on Road Safety and will, no doubt, be dealt with in their next Report, which is expected in the not very distant future. I might add that in their Interim Report of December, 1944, the Committee on Road Safety made certain recommendations on the principles to be observed in the lay-out and use of roads in relation to road safety, and they suggested that highway and planning authorities should have regard to those principles. The Committee's recommendations have been adopted in principle as a part of long-term road planning policy.
A revised memorandum on the lay-out and construction of roads was issued by the Ministry of Transport in 1943. A Departmental Committee set up by the Minister of Transport to consider the design and lay-out of roads in built-up areas reported this year, and their report has been printed. The Department's 910 technical officers maintain the closest touch with highway authorities on both the planning and execution of road schemes. It is clear, therefore, that adequate advice on the lay-out and construction of roads is already available to highway authorities, and while these authorities might welcome the adoption of the recommendation in paragraph 93 of the Alness Committee's Report, it seems doubtful whether the expense and difficulties which such an undertaking would involve could be justified in present circumstances. A definite decision on the recommendation should, however, it is suggested, be deferred until the Final Report of the Committee on Road Safety is available.
That is as far as I can go at the moment, but I can certainly add, with regard to the planning, lay-out and construction of new towns which are, of course, not yet in existence, that every regard will be paid by the Minister of Transport, who is directly concerned, to all the advice that has been given. The trunk roads which the noble Earl has mentioned are, of course, national roads. The Minister will be concerned to see that everything possible is done to institute and provide for all the safety arrangements that have been recommended, or which, in many cases exist in practice. I cannot go beyond that at the present time.