Call . for New Road Board
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DUE to the financial block imposed by the Treasury. the British road system was deteriorating, said Mr. W Rees Jeffreys, chairman of the Roads Improvement Association, at the annual "general meeting. in London last week. The financial bureaucrats had decided. he said, that necessary highway expenditure should be cut because of present economic conditions. Adequate roads were necessary to the trade-and industry of the country.
el he prime lesson was that, to achieve an efficient road system, we must get back to Mr. Lloyd George's scheme of a Road Board, a central authority composed of men of the right experience in control of its own finances and able to plan in advance without fear of the Treasury suddenly holding up its programme.
Unless new roads capable of conveying motor traffic at uninterrupted speed and in safety were provided, the demand would arise that rotor traffic should be limited in quantity to the capacity of the existing thoroughfares. This demand would find ready supporters from railway and other interests,. said Mr. Jeffreys.
Supporting the annual report, Mr. J. S. Killick, vice-chairman of the Association, said that road transport cost 25 per cent. more than it should because of inadequate roads. Recent increases in the cost of fuel and vehicles would add another 10 per cent.
25-MILE LIMIT RUMOUR
REPORTS that a private Members' Bill to extend the 25-mile radius to 50 miles would be tabled cannot be substantiated. There will be no private Members' Bills before Parliament this season, "The Commercial Motor" learns.