§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish advice for the M40 user concerning toilet facilities during(a) daylight hours and (b) night time.
§ Mr. ChopeThere are practical difficulties about publishing the advice which my hon. Friend seeks.
§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the placing of emergency Portaloo facilies midway along the M40 pending the construction and completion of permanent service facilities.
§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider installing appropriate temporary signposting on the M40 indicating the nearest availability of 24-hour fuel and refreshment facilities to motorway users prior to the construction of permanent motorway service facilities.
§ Mr. ChopePending the opening of planned motorway service areas, temporary signs will be erected on the M40 where there are service facilities providing 24-hour fuel and refreshments at reasonable distance from junctions with the motorway.
§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the distance in miles from the commencement of the southern end of the M40 to the first available service facility travelling(a) M40, M42, M5, (b) M40, M42, M6 and (c) M40, M42 to end.
§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider installing signposting advising M40 users of the non-existence of fuel and refreshment services on that motorway at(a) the commencement of the M20 near Maidstone, (b) the commencement of the M23 at Crawley, (c) the commencement of the M42 (northern section)—southbound, (d) the M6 southbound at Hilton park and (e) the M5 southbound at Frankley and at other appropriate places.
§ Mr. ChopeSigns have been erected at both ends of the M40 and on the approaches to significant interchanges to advise users of the absence of services. Such signs on M20 and M23 would be confusing to travellers on the intervening M25. There is no evidence that such signs are necessary on M42, M6 or M5.
§ Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the M40 service facility to be open for use.
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§ Mr. ChopeThree motorway service areas—MSAs—are planned for the M40: at Barn Hill—between junctions 12 and 13—Ardley—junction 10—and Tetsworth—between junctions 6 and 7. The selection of three sites was announced in mid-1986. Tetsworth later replaced Stokenchurch as the choice for the southern site. Planning clearance for the three sites was sought in February 1987, November 1986 and July 1989 respectively. Planning clearance has been obtained for Ardley following public inquiry. The aim is to open it before the end of 1992. Decisions on Barn Hill and Tetsworth are awaited following public inquiries.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the level of traffic flow on each link of the M40 motorway since the opening of the extension from Oxford to Birmingham.
§ Mr. ChopeAverage 24-hour weekday traffic flows on each link of the M40, where available, since the opening of the extension from Oxford to Birmingham are listed in the table.
Junction Number 1A to 2 94,000 3 to 4 78,500 6 to 7 50,000 9 to 10 48,000 11 to 12 50,000 12 to 13 46,000 13 to 14 42,000 15 to 16 48,000 16 to M42 52,000 This information is for the short period since opening. It will be some time before traffic flows settle down.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether automatic traffic counters have been installed on the recently opened extension of the M40 motorway.