§ 27. Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the effects of rising traffic levels on the Government's sustainable development strategy. [148470]
§ Mr. MeacherIn "Achieving a better quality of life" (January 2001), our first annual report on progress by the country as a whole towards sustainable development, we noted that road traffic levels continued on a rising trend. Road traffic has been rising steadily since the 1950s. In recent decades that growth has been closely associated with the underlying rate of economic growth.
A key objective of policy is to break that link, improving access for people and goods while reducing traffic growth and tackling the impacts of congestion and pollution. Our 10-year plan for transport includes a wide range of measures aimed at achieving these objectives.
The most recent provisional traffic figures, published last week, show that in 2000 road traffic grew by 0.7 per cent. (after adjustment for the effects of fuel shortages in the autumn). This was the lowest increase in traffic for many years, and occurred despite economic growth of 3.2 per cent. during the year.