Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they intend to achieve the planned reduction in congestion (in the 10-year transport plan) in spite of a planned increase in road traffic. [HL3884]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonMost congestion is caused by the delays vehicles impose on each other when using the network at the same time or by temporary reductions in road capacity, for example from road works or accidents. Measures in the 10-year plan are aimed at improving capacity on the most congested parts of the network and at encouraging users away from them. Improvements to selected parts of the road network will improve traffic flows.
Where local authorities decide to introduce congestion charging, this will redistribute some traffic to less congested times of day with a lower charge. Both the Highways Agency and local authorities are looking to improve their management of the road network, improving the evenness of flows, making road users better informed about problems, responding faster to accidents and reducing the effects that road works have on traffic.