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Road Transport Activities
Page 85
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IN PARLIAMENT
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
Plea for More Consideration —for Railways.
MEE Minister of Transport was -1asked by Mr. Hutchinson -whether he would recommend Traffic Corn-rniasioners to give greater weight to the . objections of railway companies to the granting of coach licences, when such opposition was on the ground that adequate alternative services were available by electrified lines, than to objections made in respect of nonelectrified lines. Failing this, he asked whether Mr. Pybus would at an early opportunity announce his policy in the matter, with a view to accelerating the electrification of suburban lines.
Mr. Pybus said he had no doubt that where there were alternative facilities in the form of electrified railway services, the railway companies brought this fact to the notice of the Commissioners, and that they were in a position to give it such weight as they thought proper. He did not think that any action on his part was called for at present.
Increased Tax Demanded.
A GAIN the demand has been _made .ttby Sir Charles Oman for the increase of licence duties on all lorries weighing over 4 tons unladen. Sir Charles also suggested the prevention of evasion of the weight tax on heavy vehicles by tile use of trailers, three of which might be attached to a lorry for £0 a'year. Mr. Pybus indicated that he had noted the suggestion. '
With regard to trailers, only locomotives were permitted to draw three trailers and those vehicles were not charged with trailer duty, but paid an inclusive duty. Sir Charles declared that these heavy vehicles were rendering certain centres absolutely hopeless, both for pedestrians and for smaller vehicles, and that the matter ought to be dealt with in some way. Mr. Pybus said he had the matter under anxious consideration.
Bridge and Road Tolls.
TPON king asked whether he would kJ allocate annually some small bnt definite proportion of the Road Fund for the purpose of freeing toll bridges and roads, Mr. Pybus said he was not prepared to meet that request, but allocations from highway authorities -would receive his careful consideration, with due regard to the funds which might be available.
Capt. Macdonald suggested that the reason why, since the Road Traffic Act was passed, only two toll bridges had beeu freed was that the Ministry refused to give adequate grants to the local authorities. Mr. Pybus said he could deal with the position only as he found it.
Coach Speeds in London.
MABANE raised the question 1.V.I.of the speed of a certain company's coaches in the centre of London and asked the Home Secretary whether his attention had been called to the alleged danger to other road users. Sir Herbert Samuel said the Commissioner of Police had informed him that there was no reason to believe that these particular vehicles were driven at higher speeds than others of the same class or that the danger caused by them was greater. Mr. Mebane asked what steps would be taken to see that the new speed limit was not brought into the same contempt as the old. It was alleged that the coaches travelled at 40 m.p.h. in main London thoroughfares. Sir H. Samuel remarked that the police did their best in thefl matter. Mr. Rhys Davies suggested that the time-tables within which the drivers were compelled to run these vehicles practically compelled the men to break the law in this respect. Sir H. Samuel replied that if that was so, proceedings could be, and were, taken. It depended on the nature of the offence whether proceedings were taken against the owners or the drivers.
Major Beaumont Thomas then asked whether instructions could not be sent to the Traffic Commissioners, whose duty it was to see that the time-tables were not drawn up in that way, but he was informed that was not a matter for the Minister of Transport.
RofileIBoards on Buses.
CNN a renewal of the complaint that the public is inconvenienced by the lack of route boards on the new London buses and the indication only of the terminal destination, the Home Secretary said that steps had been taken and were actively proceeding to restore these indicators. It was, he said, anticipated that in a _month about ninetenths of the buses running in London would have comprehensive indicators and the remainder would be dealt with so soon as practicable.
Disturbance of Highways.
MHE recommendations of the Depart mental Committee appointed to inquire into the law relating to the stopping up and diversion of highways are under consideration, but the Minister of Transport doubts whether any opportunity will present itself for promoting legislation in this respect during the present Session.
L.C.C. Official on Waterloo Bridge.
LAST Wednesday Sir Percy Simmons, chairman of the improvements committee of the London County Council, addressed members of the Conservative Transport Committee, at the House of Commons, on the subject of the new Waterloo Bridge. Sir Henry jackson was in the chair.
One of Sir Percy's statements was that a Money Bill would be necessary to enable the LOC. to raise 40 per cent. of the cost of the new bridge, the remainder being provided from the Exchequer. The opportunity will thus be available to members of Parliament for debating the proposals.
In his address Sir Percy Simmons pointed out that the difference between the cost of building a new bridge -with six lines of traffic and reconditioning the Old bridge to' 'provide four linesof traffic would be only £214,000.:-, The Charing Cross Bridge scheme had formed a part of a:ctnfipo'siteY proposal which would 'give six diries of traffic-at Charing Cross and four at Waterloo, giving 10 lines for this part of Loudon.
Charing Cross Scheme Dead.
INhis opinion, the Charing Cross scheme wasdead, 'so that unless Waterloo Bridge was rebuilt, this part of London would have only four lines of cross-river traffic. One of the main objections to the new bridge was that it would not be able to absorb the traffic which would flow into the strand, but he did not anticipate that the county council would have any difficulty in acquiring the land around the approach to the Strand for widening purposes, if it desired to do so. The roundabout system at Wellington Street 'had been one of the most successful in London, ' and it could be improved still further.
Paris and Berlin Superior.
T ONDON still lagged behind Paris _Liana Berlin in the matter of crossriver traffic, said Sir P. Simmons. In Paris the average width of the bridges was 82 ft., whereas in London it was only 59 ft. In Paris the average distance between bridges was 570 yds., and in London 1,200 yds. In reply to a suggestion that a steel bridge with a single span4might be erected, iSir Percy Simmons said ithat whatever was done elsewhere with steel, it was of vital importance that the new bridge should be in keeping: with Somerset House and its' surroundings, and definite instructions had been given to this effect to the architect and the engineer.
It was intimated that on the following Wednesday Sir Reginald Blomfield would address the committee on behalf of those who believed that the existing bridge ought to be retained.