Labour-run York City Council's plan for a city wide 20 mph speed limit is being opposed by Lib Dem councillors. A consultation on the "roll out" to West York of the speed limit resulted in seven residents out of the 13,000 consulted supporting the £500,000 scheme – so Labour decided to press ahead. Cllr Steve […]
It's rather a relief for a think tank to produce a paper urging us to look to the past. The History Boys from the New Local Government Network seeks to do so. I'm not sure how much of a guide to policy it is but there are some inspiring anecdotes. Cities Minister Greg Clark, who […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. There is a double-edged case against the Government's H2 project, whether one believes in high speed rail or not. If one doesn't believe in it at all, it follows that the £50 billion that will be spent on the plan (or whatever the sum eventually turns out to be) […]
The lobbyists for a third runway at Heathrow Airport have been raising the stakes. They say that if we had a Thames Estuary Airport instead – "Boris Island" – then Heathrow Airport would not be viable. It would have to close altogether. Over 60,000 jobs would be lost. I was interested to see the Mayor […]
By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter The splash in The Times this morning is taken from their interview with the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, who is shelving the plans of his predecessor, Philip Hammond, who said that raising the speed limit "would bring hundreds of millions of pounds of economic benefits from faster journey times." The […]
Councils have a balance in treating motorists fairly with maintaining traffic flow and not stinging motorists with excessive charges. If there was no enforcement then traffic would grind to halt in congested London boroughs like mine. On the other hand councils seeking to "catch people out" as a money spinner is quite wrong. Councils who […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. Infrastructure is never going to be the sexiest part of the deeply unsexy field which is public policy. But it is just about the most important – if it goes wrong. There are few rewards given to politicians who get our transport, digital and energy systems right. In the short term, […]
Richard Tracey, the Conservative Transport Lead on the London Assembly, wants a vote in Parliament on banning tube strikes so we can see which MPs stand up for Londoners When did Bob Crow, the General Secretary of the RMT Union, last compare you to Hitler? For me and my Conservative colleagues on the London Assembly […]
America has the ‘BosWash corridor’ (Boston through to Washington), Germany has the Ruhr valley, Japan has Tokyo-Yokohama. England, of course, has Greater London, but we also have the ‘Northern conurbation’ – Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and all the places in between: one of the greatest concentrations of humanity anywhere in the world. So why don’t […]
Councils spend £100 million a year filling two million potholes according to the latest asphalt industry survey. Weather means the spending varies from year to year but really spending money on potholes is a consequence of councils failing to surface road adequately. Yet if there are potholes it is helpful for residents to report […]
The Autumn Statement included an extra £215 million for local councils on roads maintenance. The allocation for each council has been published. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says: The additional funding will be provided to local highway authorities, including London, to help renew and repair the road network in England. £140m will be allocated in 2013/14, […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. The top story for a number of newspapers this morning is that reports suggest that George Osborne is considering introducing tolls on a number of existing major motorways in order to fund new road building. "Aides to the chancellor" told the Financial Times (£) that the plan is "under […]
The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has stressed that local councils now have the power to reduce the confusing clutter of raod signs if they wish to do so. Speaking to the Campaign to Protect Rural England, he said: Too many country roads carry a reminder of how insensitive planners can be to aesthetics. Ugly and […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter In the end, last night’s vote on fuel duty did not yield the scare it might have: Tory backbenchers voted overwhelmingly in support of the government, and against Labour’s motion to postpone the 3p rise in duty that is currently planned for January next year. The government’s majority was 48. […]