Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that the one-way traffic system, which includes Tottenham Court Road, New Oxford Street, St. Giles High Street and Charing Cross Road, is to be continued indefinitely, whether the proposed £836,000 London County Council road improvement scheme at St. Giles Circus is to be completed; to what use it will be put; and what estimate he has made of the economic return on such expenditure.
§ Mr. MarplesWork on the redevelopment of this site has started, and the L.C.C. road scheme now estimated to cost £488,000 will proceed as planned. It will provide valuable additional capacity at this critical junction. The rate of return on the capital cost is not a complete, nor necessarily a true, measure of the value of such schemes. The one-way scheme in this area, which I have said is to be continued indefinitely, is designed to provide the best facilities for traffic under conditions as they are at present.