Hardened arteries threaten road sclerosis
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We reproduce here the British Road Federation's study of the state of road planning in the Tyne and Wear area
TYNE AND WEAR was one of eight areas studied by the British Road Federation in its assessment of transport needs for its report (CM January 14) Room to Move.
The conclusion was that Britain's big cities will decline still further without a new, largescale investment in road and public transport. The report called on the Government to implement a E7 billion urban transport programme.
The BRF's study of the situation in Tyne and Wear said: THE POSITIVE ACTION to improve the whole range of service in the North East following a Government initiative in the early 1960s to underpin the region's economic activity included the drawing-up of a traffic and transportation plan for Tyneside designer to cater for a level of traffic two and a half times greater than the 1960 level by 1980.
It did not envisage uncontrolled car usage but was aimed at achieving a balance between the provision of facilities for the car, restrictions on the car in particular situations, comfortable alternative public transport provision and attention to the needs of commercial traffic.
It did, as T Dan Smith, chairman of the city planning committee, said in 1964, recognise that traffic was a consequence of modern civilisation and getting to grips with it was a problem which had to be resolved. The central area was to be provided with a limited network of urban motorways linking up with national and regional road networks and a new metropolitan railway would link the coast loop and South Tyne lines with an interchange at Central Station. The capital costs of the plan were to be split at roughly 75 per cent for roads and 25 per cent for public transport.
By 1973 construction work was underway and city officials were speaking enthusiastically of the good living and work-in areas which the new roads would help to create. In the city. centre pedestrians would be segregated from vehicles, long and short-term car parks would be built to encourage people to leave their cars and proceed to the central area on foot. The problems for public transport aggravated by the three bridges
crossing the Tyne would be eased by the proposed rapid transit system.
The planners in Gateshead on the other side of the Tyne had adopted a policy of positive encouragement of traffic because it believed that its success depended upon the level of motorisation provided for. The town centre would be served by a system of high capacity roads forming a surrounding loop. Sunderland too had decided upon a road building programme, the main prohibiting factor being the high cost.
Tyne and Wear today has a population of 1.1 million people concentrated in an area of some 210 square miles. For employment it is still heavily dependent upon a few miles traditional industries which are declining and which are located in the older industrial areas.
By road the county is easily reached by the Al/Al(M) dual carriageway/motorway and hourly high-speed trains connect it with London in three hours. Its airport and ferry services provide good links with the mainland of Europe and its ports serve both Europe and further afield.
Internally it benefited very considerably from the Government decision taken in the early 1960s to revitalise the Northern Region's development through a large programme of investment. This included major inter-urban roads and several new towns including Washington to attract new industry and replace the massive losses of mining and ship-building jobs.
Unfortunately this did little more than prevent a worsening in the employment situation relative to the rest of the country. To provide for and encourage new industrial and commercial activity as well as revive employment levels in the old industrial areas will require much greater financial resources.
Car ownership, at 45 per cent of households having a car, is below the national average but is growing and may increase by as much as 50 per cent by 1991. Public transport still provides the principal means of travel to work in Newcastle and Sunderland and some increase in total public transport ridership following the opening of the first four phases of the Metro rapid transit system.
Prior to local government reorganisation in 1974 the plans for Newcastle had been based largely upon those of the 1961 Central Area Redevelopment Plans. They comprised a central area motorway network consist ing of two north-south roads connected by an underground east-west link, a north west radial, coast road extension and a by-pass of the Shields Road shopping area. When complete the system was expected to provide for an expected traffic increase of 260 per cent in the 20 years 1961-81.
By 1974 escalating costs and changed circumstances caused the new county council to review the programme in the county as a whole. It had inherited road proposals estimated to cost in the region of £500 million (at 1975 prices) and was faced with the prospect of having only about £5-8 million per annum available for capital spending in the next 15 years.
The outturn of the review based upon the likely level of resources, blight considerations and revised traffic flows was a programme estimated to cost about £80 million.
All the schemes inherited from the former authorities were classified under three main headings: those to be retained as firm proposals, those to be looked at again and those to be abandoned. Of the major schemes within Newcastle only the central motorway east and the north west radial had been completed by 1975.
The coast road extension and the Shields Road by-pass remained but were no longer to be built to motorway standard. By 1975 the need for a new Redheugh Bridge was becoming urgent and a scheme was added to the firm programme.
Since that time the construction of the Metro and its related works and the replacement of the Redheugh Bridge at a cost of £180 million and £23 million respectively have so dominated the capital programmes that major road-building in the county has virtually been suspended.
Indeed a special financial arrangement with the Department of Transport required that no new capital starts on road schemes be made in the seven years from 1976 to 1983, with the exception of Red heugh Bridge.
As the new Redheugh Bridge opened to traffic in March 1983 and the Metro will become fully operational in January 1984, the road capital programme has restarted in 1983-84.
The programme as outlined in the 1984-85 TPP submission envisages total expenditure of £67 million over the three years to 1986-87 split roughly 54:46 between highways and public transport. Priority is given to schemes which serve industry help public transport assist the county council's environmental aims Although it is not the intention of the council to restrain the use as an end in itself, the overall policy will be to maintain a high level of public transport service. Any provision for road traffic will be made only within that content. The main highway schemes will be: Most of them will be of significant benefit to buses.
Public transport capital spending will include £16 million already committed to the Metro, another £2 million for renewal of the Metro, £14 million mainly for bus depots and bus replacement and small amounts for ferry replacement and British Rail. High priority will be given to schemes which facilitate interchange with the Metro.
Major schemes to be carried out or started in the next three years include replacement of the existing Fulwell Road bus depot by a new Wheatsheaf depot in Sunderland, modifications to some of the existing 17 bus depots to reduce overhead costs and the completion of the installation of radio control equipment in the bus fleet.
After 1986-87 the county council hopes to be able to continue with the remainder of the capital programme up to 1991 based upon the policies and anticipated resources outlined in the Structure Plan. This could include: Coast road extension, Newcastle, to link the existing coast road to the central motorway east and make possible a greatly improved environment in Cradlewell Gateshead East-West Route to link the south approaches of the Tyne and Redheugh Bridges, improve bus movements and ease industrial traffic Earlier plans for the extension of the Metro are not being implemented although the county council had hoped that the lines for possible extensions at some future date might be safeguarded. They included Tyne Dock-Whiteleas-Boldon, BentonKillingworth and Kenton Bankfoot to the airport. The secreary of State for the Environment was not prepared to accept them for inclusion in the Structure Plan until the viability of the existing sections has been proven.
Following the programme of the 1960s and 1970s referred to earlier, most of the deficiences in the trunk road network have been eliminated. Most of the Al, A19, A69 and A696 roads within the county have been built or upgraded to dual carriageway standard. Two major schemes are outstanding: the A69/A6125 Newcastle Western by-pass and extension and the A696 Woolsington and Kenton Bankfoot bypass.
Newcastle Western by-pass, which is scheduled for a pos sible start in late 1985, will complete a western route around the main built-up area of Gateshead and Newcastle linking Scotswood Bridge with Gosforth Park. The A696 Woolsington and Kenton Bankfoot By-pass will by-pass the two villages which are located on the direct route from Tyneside via the A68 to Edinburgh and improve access to the airport.
Tyne and Wear County Council has said it would like to see duplication of the Tyne Tunnel constructed as part of the trunk road network because the existing Tyne Tunnel is already fully loaded at peak times and because it believes that all the river crossings within the county will be running at full capacity by 1991.
There is also the anomaly that, since the detrunking of the Al through Newcastle and the trunking and designating as Al of the former A108 Tyne Tunnel approach road, the present tunnel although an integral part of national strategic route is not the responsibility of the Department of Transport.
Duplication of the Tyne Tunnel would not only ease the other crossings and improve access to the main industrial sites but also link the new towns of Killingworth and Washington. The existing approach, roads would be capable of handling the additional traffic.
Consistent with its policy to maintain a comprehensive public transport service, it is the council's intention to manage the use of the road space with public transport's requirements paramount. Unlike other metropolitan counties the county council has decided against a large computer-based UTC scheme. Instead it intends to install a compact micro-processor based scheme in Newcastle, which is capable of extension to the whole county. Extensive USE is made of with-flow and contraflow bus lanes.
Scope for widespread lorry bans is limited by the fact that most of the heavy vehicles on the country's roads have origins or destinations within it and that such restrictions might adversely affect the very industrial and commercial activity which the economy demands. Selective use will continue to be made of weight and width restrictions on unsuitable roads and of limited route bans where alternative routes are available.
Provision of public car parking will be made where it supports the overall transport aims of the council and charging will be controlled in such a way that it secures maximum space. In association with the opening of the Metro, parking sites at some of the outlying stations have geen developed to encourage park and ride and it is intended to make additional provisions if this seems worthwhile.
Summary With the expected completion of the Metro in January 1984 the county council's investment programme will reflect its overall policy of maintaining and im proving public transport ser vices, building new roads onh where they will best serve indus try improve the operating condi tions for buses or improve th( environment.
Total capital expenditure ir the three years to 1987 is esti mated to be in the region of £6", million. In 1975 the highway pro gramme alone which the count) council inherited from thr former authorities was esti mated to cost £500 million a 1975 prices and in most case: the plans had been arrived a only after lengthy studies anc had the blessing of the Govern ment as part of the approve( Development Plans.
Furthermore, the very lov level of the capital spendirq accepted for Transport Supple mentary Grant in 1983-84 corn pared with the bid, le only 40 pe cent, does not augur well for thi council's ability to carry througt even the limited programm( now envisaged,