§ LORD GLYNasked Her Majesty's Government whether they have been able to give any detailed consideration to the report of the special sub-committee of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee on London Traffic Congestion 1951, and which of the recommendations have been carried out, and which other of the fifty-six proposals is it intended to put into operation in view of the increasing seriousness of the problem and the urgent need for action.
§ THE PAYMASTER GENERAL (THE EARL OF SELKIRK)The report of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee on Traffic Congestion was presented to the Minister of Transport in 1951. On April 3, 1951, a statement on this report was made in the House of Commons by the then Minister of Transport and the report was debated in the House of Lords. Most of the recommendations are of a general character and can only be implemented over a long term. Others are of a negative character but are not the less useful on that account. Her Majesty's Government have accepted most of the recommendations, but have expressed dissent from recommendations Nos. 3, 4, 10 and 52, which deal with double shift and weekend working, the reduction of horse-drawn vehicles, and subway escalators for pedestrians, and only qualified acceptance of Nos. 48 and 51 in so far as they refer to the erection of advance warning signs.
Under the heading "Roads and Roadworks" the Minister agrees with recommendations 1, 2 and 5 and has recently announced certain major works of road improvement in the London area. Under the heading "Traffic and Traffic Restrictions" a certain number 1026WA of additional right-hand turns have been prohibited and the Minister is hoping to extend the system of unilateral waiting on alternate days which has proved successful. He is also hoping shortly, in co-operation with the police, to implement recommendations 9 and 15, which suggest restricting the un-loading of goods vehicles for certain periods of the day on certain main thoroughfares and in the immediate vicinity of certain important controlled road junctions. A through map has also been prepared as suggested in recommendation No. 21. In addition the Minister has arranged to pay grant to local authorities for new directional signposts which are shortly to be erected in London as suggested in recommendation No. 49.
Under the heading "Parking" the Minister hopes shortly to be able to announce his decision on the report of the working party set up to consider these recommendations. In the meantime, following recommendation No. 24, a permanent coach station for express coach services has been secured on the Penton-ville Road. Under the heading "Traffic Signals" the recommendations for the moat part fall to be implemented by local authorities. The Minister has, however, been able to give grants on an increasing scale for the replacement of obsolete equipment and the provision of new signals and has drawn the particular attention of councils to the recommendation about green arrow signals for left-turning traffic. Under the heading "General," recommendation No. 56, the number of traffic patrols will be increased as the strength of the Police Force permits.
House adjourned at five o'clock.