ROAD TRANSPORT MATTERS IN PAR IAMENT
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A Review of the Past Session of Parliament. Criticism of a Road
development Scheme. Tradesmen's Stationary Vehicl s.
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent.
filHE Session of Parliament which came te an end on May 10th was not productive of much public legislation affecting road transport interests, although the Government's Bridges Bill, which received the Royal Assent on the day of the prorogation, may ultimately be of considerable value in opening routes which are now closed to heavy traffic. A great deal of work will have to be done before weak bridges over railways and canals can be reconstructed, hut the highway authorities now have the power to enter into agreements with the owners of such bridges. The next step will be to prepare registers and surveys of the bridges which require to be reconstructed, and as there are some hundreds in the country these preliminary preparations will take a long time.
Lord Cecil introduced a. Bill for the regulation of road vehicles, his object being to reduce accidents. The measure was sent to a select committee, but it was reported without agreement, and was rejected when it came back to the House of Lords.
The proceeding helped to keep alive the demand for comprehensive road legislation and served to hasten one branch of the inquiry undertaken by the Royal Commission on Transport.
An interim report is expected in July, which will deal with the matters contained in the Government's draft Road Traffic Bill, which has been pending for two years.
It may be anticipated that a real effort will be made by the new Government at an early stage of its career to introduce legislation based upon the recommendations of the commission.
A Bill for compulsory insurance against third-party risks was presented in the House of Commons by Mr. Wardlaw Milne, but it did not proceed farther in the face of opposition.
The House of Commons passed the London County Council and Electric Railway Companies Co-ordination of Traffic Bills, which permit the promoters to enter into agreements for common management and a common fund. They will come before the House of Lords in the autumn.
Negotiations are still proceeding with regard to Charing Cross Bridge, and no Parliamentary progress with the scheme has yet been possible.
The Budget made only a slight alteration in the scale of duties, goods vehicles over 2 tons and not exceeding 21 tons being taxed at £35 instead of £40, with a rebate of 20 per cent, on vehicles fitted entirely with pneumatic tyres.
Certain additional grants were made to road authorities, and under the Local Government Act the county councils received wider powers as road authorities. A number of private Bills was introduced which vested local authorities with powers to restrict passengertraffic competition in their areas. grammes have been expedited for t i e relief of unemployment, and these cost about £57, 00,000, of which £37,000,000 was provided from na a onal funds. No Jess than £26,000,000 had been ape' since 1924, and £13,000,000 remain to be spent. Tia scheme proposed by Mr. Lloyd George compressed nto two years a volume of work which, if it were des ra.ble, would take at least a decade to execute economic ly and efficiently. The obstacles to any such concentr tion of work are practically insuperable, whatever po ers were obtained to override private interests and the utonomy of local. authorities.
Colonel Ashley discusses the pos ibilities of gross extravagance if careful surveys be n t made, and he is considering the possibilities of price being forced up should demand for essential mat Haig outrun the supply, and he refers to the most serious interruption to road traffic and loss to trade which would result from the drastic process of renovating the highway system throughout its length, as was contemplated in the scheme.
The proposal to spend 121,000,000, in the first year, on district roads is criticised on the ground of extravagance and impracticability, having regard to the low traffic value of the country lanes ai: d by-ways which constitute a great part of the length of these unclassified roads.
The proposed expenditure of £42,000,000 in two years on trunk roads is not, In his opinion, practicable with proper regard to the vital factors of efficiency and economy.
Tradesmen's Stationary Vehicles.
THE Home Secretary informed Mr. March that the time 'during which a tradesman could leave his vehicle standing outside his shop was, under. Section 54 (b) of the Metropolitan Police Act, 1839, limited to the time necessary for loading or unloading. This dearly must depend upon the circumstances of each particular case.
Landowners and New Roads.
.A.REQUEST has been made by Mr. SakIatvala for particulars of expenditure on the construction and Improvement of new roads, giving the amounts paid for the acquisition of property, the payment of wages
and the purchase of materials.
The returns in the annual report of the Road Fund are not made up in a form that enables the expenditure to be allocated under these heads. Mr. Saklatvala urged the necessity of the classification to show how much of the Road Fund went to the landlords and Colonel Ashley said that he did not know if that would be possible, but he agreed to make an inquiry into the matter.