ROAD TRANSPORT MATTERS IN PARLIAMENT.
Page 59
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Road Development and the Mitigation of Unemployment. Hopes of Shortly Re-opening Holborn Roadways. Charing Cross Bridge Scheme.
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent.
TN Mr. Lloyd George's road development scheme it is estimated that for every £1,000,000 of expenditure 5,000 men would be employed, directly and indirectly. Sir Nicholas Grattan-Doyle desired to have an official estimate from the Minister of Transport, who made the following reply :—
"An estimate of this sort is largely governed by various local conditions and by the character of the work itself. If the work was predominantly undertaken in urban areas on the most economical terms, a figure of 2,000 men employed direct upon the work for a year for each 11,000,000 expended would probably be a reasonable estimate. If the work consisted largely of selected schemes in rural areas, which admitted of a high proportion of manual labour, the figure of men employed for one year direct on the work might be increased to as much as 2,500.
"No sufficient data exists to enable a useful estimate to be framed as regards the volume of employment provided away from the actual site of the work, but it is commonly assumed that every man employed on the actual work would entail another man indirectly employed in producing and transporting materials and in other ways, and this assumption may not be unreasonable."
Hopes of Shortly Re-opening Holborn " Roadways.
TT is officially stated that the Holborn Borough Conn-Led has let contracts for the whole of the road reinstatement made necessary by the gas explosion in Holborn, but this cannot be commenced until the ;various statutory authorities have completed the work on their mains, etc.
The contracts provide for continuous working night and day. It is hoped that High Holborn will be open for traffic in May anti that the remainder of the streets will be available for vehicles a mouth later.
• _ Charing Cross Bridge Scheme.
EMBERS of Parliament are becoming curious, if not impatient, regarding the progress of the Charing Cross and Waterloo Bridge schemes. Another request for information having been addressed to the Minister of Transport, the latter confessed his inability to add anything to what he stated two months ago.
THE inquiry by the Select Committee of the House of Commons, which is considdring the two London .Co-ordination of Traffic Bills, was opened last Tuesday. Sir Henry Cautley is the chairman, the other members of the Committee being Sir Leonard Brassey, Colonel C. Ainsworth and Mr. E. Shinwell.
It was intimated that, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the Parliamentary session, only one witness would be called for the Underground companies and one witness for the London County Council.
Sir Lyndon Macassey, K.C., submitted the ease for the Electric Railways. In reply to the chairman, who asked whether an agreement had been reached as a result of the negotiations between the main-line railway companies and the Underground companies, the counsel said he could not tell them that an agreement had been arrived at, but proposals had been made by the Underground companies to the main-line companies, and the result was that the latter were not opposing the Bills.
Having explained the prop6sals, the counsel in'formed the chairman that provision was being made
in the Bill for the fixing of a reasonable return on capital anti for dealing with the development of the respective undertakings. Be submitted that the common fund established by the Underground group, under the 1915 Act, had not resulted in any restriction of facilities, the car-miles run by the Underground services having increased from 115,000,000 to 239,000,000. The present legislative proposals were purely permissive, and any agreements made under the Bill would have to be submitted for approval to Parliament.
The promoters of the two Bills--the London County Council and the Electric Railway Companies—dealt with about 85 per cent, of the London passenger traffic,. apart from that carried by the main-line railways, and represented 76 per cent, of the capital invested in passenger services in the London area. Sir Lynden Macassey, K.C., indicated his willingness to insert a clause providing that, if an agreement were arrived at between the Underground companies and the London County Council, any other local authorities or traffic' owning authorities could require the promoters of the Bills to• admit them as parties to the agreement on a basis not less favourable than that of the existing agreement, regard being paid to any dissimilarity in circumstances and conditions. The counsel explained that any body, including the small bus owners, could be admitted on the terms he had mentioned.
Dealing with the opposition to the Bills, he said that eight Metropolitan Borough Councils contended that the London County Council should not be relieved a the responsibility of controlling and managing its own tramway undertaking. Tramway concerns which had running agreements with the London County Council objected to the London County Council entering into an agreement with a = competitive form of transport, The purpose of co-ordination, however, Was to relieve the tramways from the wasteful competition of buses.
Lord Ashfield was the first witness called for the promoters, and his evidence was based mainly on the proposition that they could never expect to raise capital and develop the tube system to the outer ring of London without the proposed coordination of traffic. He mentioned that the construction of tubes cost about 1870,000 per mile.
Smoke from Steam Wagons.
THE attention of the Home Secretary was called by Mr. Day to the accidents occurring in London through drivers being momentarily blinded by steam and black smoke emitted from passing lorries or steam wagons.
Sir Wm. Joynson-Hicks stated that 23 such accidents came to the notice of the police during the three months ended February 28th, There were London County Council by-laws restricting the excessive emission of smoke in Blackwall and Rotherhithe tunnels, but the general -law was not altogether adequate, and it was very difficult for the police to prosecute successfully.
During the year ended January 31st last, proceedings were taken under London County Council by-laws in 134 cases. For the reason he had mentioned there were no other prosecutions. In further reply, he said he thought that these accidents were slightly increasing. He had been in conversation with the Minister of Transport, who was also concerned in the matter, but he was afraid there would be no opportunity for passing legislation this session.