Developing National Roads
Page 23
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ANannouncement of importance as to the policy of the Government in connection with its scheme for nationalizing trunk roads was made in a speech last Saturday by the Minister of Transport.
It must be remembered, however, that the policy concerns only 4,500 miles of road out of the total of nearly 27,000 miles comprising the main thoroughfares of this country. It may, therefore, be considered only as the beginning of a system of unified control, and, apparently, for an indefinite period the remainder of the mainroad system will continue to be under the jurisdiction of local authorities.
The Minister stated that no departure from uniformity in the trunk roads will be imposed by the financial limitations of the various highway authorities, nor by the varying degrees of foresight displayed by them, but by -the needs of the traffic alone. The Ministry has drawn up a series ' of standard widths varying between 60 ft. and 160 ft., which are to be applied in each area, according to the density of traffic at peak-load hours. The standard of width will generally be high, to accommodate not only motor traffic but separate tracks for cyclists, and reserve space for pedestrians and service roads.
In the first place, they are intended to act as examples, which are presumably to be followed by the authorities in charge of the roads not nationalized. Access to them will be controlled, and the provisions of the Ribbon Development Act, to prevent building without consent within 220 ft. of the middle of the road, will be applied.
The Minister coupled with this adoption of trunk roads the five-year programme, the cost of which, in terms of projects submitted by highway authorities, now amounts to nearly £140,000,000.
In referring to the features of construction, he stated that these would exhibit all that was best in modem design, not only in surfacing, superelevation and camber, but in avoiding the dangers of cross-roads. Is it possible that he is contemplating the development of fly-over junctions, which constitute the only really effective method of ensuring perfect safety where streams of traffic cross one another? Roundabouts are merely palliatives which partially effect their purpose by slowing down traffic, and it is just this decreasing of speed which causes congestion and prevents the uninterrupted flow which is so essential to efficiency.