South Wales Discusses Road Transport

26th September 1952, Page 212

26th September 1952

Page 212

Page 212, 26th September 1952 — South Wales Discusses Road Transport

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Six Papers Presented to Cardiff Conference : Dissatisfaction With Roads and Bus Regulations

Agramme was full pro amme was arranged for the Road Transport Conference held by the Industrial Association of Wales and Monmouthshire and the British Road Federation in Cardiff on Wednesday. The morning session was devoted to papers referring to " The Present State of Road Communications in South Wales," and the chairihan was Mr. F. R. Graesser-Thomas, M.Sc.; F.R.I.C., president of the sponsoring . association.

The chairman for the afternoon session was Mr. Christopher T. Brunner, M.Inst.T., vice-chairman of the B.R.F. and president-elect of the Institute of Transport. The subject was " The Overall Position and the Need for Action." This was a summing-up by Mr. W. E. J. Powell, M.I.C.E., M.I.Muri.E.. the county surveyor and planning officer for Glamorgan; Mr. R. B. Southall, director and general manager, National Oil Refineries, Ltd., and Mr. Brunner.

B.R.S. Driver's Views

. The first paper, "Driving Conditions To-day," was presented by Mr. H. 11. Davies, a driver for British Road

Services. He believed that the great majority of transport men from South Wales had a high standard of driving, perhaps due to the heavy going, hilly country and narrow roads IA ith which

they had to contend. He felt that Ministry of Transport officers and local authorities were aware of thc problems involved, but limited by economic circumstances. Great gains could accrue if money were allowed to eliminate the many danger points.

Mr. Davies gave details of such spots and efforts that had been made to alleviate some of them on the trunk road into South Wales via Gloucester. Some widening had been carried out, but the problem had never been fully tackled. Certain roads were actually giving way and it was dangerous to keep to the near side.

Continued Obstruction

How could Mr. T. G. Davies, M.B.E., general manager of the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., have been expected to cover such a wide subject as "Passenger Transport To-day" in 20 minutes? His first remark was that development had taken place in the face of continued obstruction to a point where passenger transport represented a major factor in our lives.

The obstructions took many forms, principally the imposition of speed limits and the restriction of " box ". dimensions. What the recent addition of 6 ins, to the maximum width meant in passenger comfort had to be experienced to be believed. Restrictions on vehicle size were less onerous on the Continent and in America, where roads were being made to fit the. traffic. A similar approach in Great Britain was long overdue.

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An unfortunates feature of the highpowered well-built bus was its weight. Most of the new-type under-fioorengined 44 -. seat single deckers approached 71 tons. Experiments were taking place with similar vehicles Weighing 2 tons less, they were wellbuilt but of less substantial construction. It was essential that roads should be in good condition to permit their operation without excessive maintenance costs. Tests of these lighter buses by his company had shown an increase of 2 m.p.g. with oil fuel—a saving of £100 per bus per annum.

Without roads to accommodate more vehicles, the only present fruitful lines on which to work were larger seating capacity and increased speed. Higher maximum speeds were not necessarily meant, but improvement in the average by eliminating bottlenecks. Many services worked at 16 m.p.h., others below 12 m.p.h. The cost at the higher speed was over 2/d. per mile lower and the annual saving about £400 per vehicle.

Bus Speed Limit Unfair Mr. Davies considered that the limit of 30 m.p.h. on buses outside built-up areas was unfair discrimination, for the bus driver had to be more highly qualified than most others and undergo more exacting tests.

As regards taxation, a 56-seat bus which cost, say, £4,200 and ran 37,000 miles per annum would, in 12 years. have paid £1,036 in licence fees and £4,600 in fuel tax.

The author emphasized the urgent need for the prpposed Severn Bridge, also for improvements in the roads in the Welsh valleys. He called for the provision of " pull-in " places for bus stops and for one-side parking to ease road congestion. Presenting his paper, "Transport Communications in Relation to• the Industry of South Wales," Mr. N. R. R. Brooke, A.C.A.; director and general manager, Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, Ltd., said that coal exports were now a fraction of what they had been, whilst steel production had increased tremendously. There had also been a large influx and development of the lighter industries in the past decade.

" These conditions had changed greatly the transport requirements. Enormous tonnages of raw materials—scrap and iron ore—required grearly increased transport facilities to carry them, also semi-finished products into and out of the country.

It was clear that South Wales must have far more efficient road communications, for the position was rapidly being reached when congestion would have a most serious effect on the cost and efficiency of road transport unless bold measures were taken immediately.

In his paper "Difficulties in Communications to the Midlands and the Docks," Mr. J. J. Davison, LP.. director. Jones Heard and Co., Ltd., dealt with this subject only from the shipping angle. He did, however, say that a new trunk road from the Midlands to South Wales should command a high priority. The existing road from Birmingham was a single carriageway for almost its whole length.

A greater proportion of cargo tended to come by road and shippers must continually press for road access to be commensurate with modern needs. As a whole, road traffic was not suitable for direct shipment, because loads cannot he arranged to arrive in the order required. The only method found satisfactory was to deliver to shed, which was independent of weather or the arrival of vessels.

Three Vital Factors It was considered by Mr. R. E. E. Howard-Hodges, director, Public Safety Division, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, that the appropriate paper for discussion at the Conference would have been the new B.R.F. booklet 'The Roadway to Safety," and he paid a high tribute to its production. He gave an interesting survey of his subject. "Present Road Conditions and Their Effect on Safety," and said that the three vital factors were a modern system of roads, fair but firm discipline on the highway and education of all road users. He felt that accidents could be reduced if the Government took the following steps without delay:—

(a) Implementation of the mosteffective remedies in the official reports of the Government Committee on Road Safety, unhampered by false economy; (b) immediate development of the motor police patrols; (c) clarification of procedure at pedestrian crossings; (d) a start on the modernization of roads in addition to the early elimination of the " black spots "; '(e) extension of the continuous educational campaign, with the aid of all local authorities; (f) greater use of radio and films

Future Roads

In the absence of Mr. J. F. A. Baker. A.M.I.C.E., divisional road engineer. Wales and Monmouth Division, Ministry of Transport, his paper, "The Future Road System of South Wales," was presented by Lieut.-Col. J. E. Jones. The author had restricted it to a factual description of the ultimate proposals for dealing with trunk roads. He stated that when existing or estimated future traffic volume was as high as 3.0006,000 vehicles a day three-lane carriageways were suggested, whilst from 6,000l5,000 vehicles a day would necessitate dual two-lane carriageways.