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EXISTING heavy lorries should be tamed before Parliarn authorises 40-tonners, the Civic Trust has told the Department Transport in response to the White Paper on lorries, people, and environment.
It believes that there is a strong case for a national freight transport policy, and it has repeated its assertion that the haulage industry has succeeded in externalising so many of its costs as to give it an unfair advantage over other forms of transport.
"If the White Paper was serious about wanting the railways and other modes of transport to compete with road haulage on more equal terms, it would have proposed measures to ensure that competition is fairer by insisting that the heavy lorry meets the costs it now imposes on the community," says the Trust.
And it goes on to say that the heavy lorry — over eight tons unladen — has grown more rapidly than television. In 1946, there were 1,000, by 1960 there were 11,000, yet by 1979 there were another 110,000, and Continental operators' vehicles running in Britain push the figure even higher.
"In effect, the heavy lorry in the United Kingdom has been in its proving period over the past 20 years. Enjoying big concealed subsidies, it has proved its worth to haulage contractors and transport managers," says the Trust. But it goes on to quote the White Paper as saying that there is "grave public concern" about its effect on people.
The Trust accuses the DTp of underestimating the by-pass programme which is needed to alleviate lorry problems in towns and villages.
While the White Paper suggests that 215 of the 275 towns on English trunk roads, and which have over 10,000 inhi tants, already have by-pas! the Trust believes that there 693 communities of betw 500 and 150,000 inhabitants the Government's shelved lc route network which sho have by-passes.
Of these, only 26 per cent h by-passes, and there are no f proposals for another 40 cent. In other words, 514 need by-passes which, at 1 prices, would leave the Gov( ment with a £3,500m consti tion bill which the country c not afford.
It wants the EEC to pr ahead with an 80dBA noise Ii so that Britain can reap the be fits of the Foden/Rolls-Ro quiet heavy vehicle which ready exists in prototype fo But it warns that if quiet he vehicles do not enter product until the 1990s, it will still t another four or five years for I of the nation's lorry fleet conform to that standard.
And it is unhappy with Armitage Report's lorry act area concept which the WI Paper suggests is worth m study. In its view, a review transport policy would be be than a system of grant allc tions to blighted areas, es cially as such areas could come undesirable and many in historic towns.
It suggests that the side-gu proposals added to the WI Paper proposals should be tended to all lorries, and not j the heaviest, and that the E. tion 8 railway sidings grE should be extended from 5C 60 and sometimes 80 per cenl