Tories scuttle bans
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CONSERVATIVE Party's general election manifesto promises, nplication, to scuttle completely any remaining possibility of r-scale lorry bans in London, writes ALAN MILLAR.
proposal to abolish the ter London Council (see 19) means that many GLC s would be taken over by Department of Transport, certainly the possibility of a on 38-tonners would be very :ult if a Conservative Govlent is re-elected on June 9. it the transport industry is ig no chances, even if all ion polls point to a comfortConservative majority, and )ndon Needs Lorries camn has been prepared by the stry to respond to the immi. Wood Report.
is Wood Report is expected to be presented to the GLC next week, and may include notes of reservation from some of its panel members who represent both sides of the lorry argument.
The Freight Transport Association is already co-ordinating a campaign with the Confederation of British Industry, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Movement for London (part of the British Road Federation), the Road Haulage Association, and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Publicity material prepared by LNL is in a two-tone green style to reflect the environmental nature of the argument about lorries in the capital, and the lorry is an environmentally acceptable 16-tonner.
FTA planning and traffic services controller Richard Turner has fired an early salvo in the final Wood battle by telling the Institute of Municipal Engineers that the major lorry bans proposed by the GLC are "neither necessary nor acceptable."
"Surveys have confirmed that the lorry is not the public enemy its critics would suggest, but quite the opposite. Local authorities which act as though it was are in danger of depriving industry and residents of the goods and services they need in order to survive and prosper," he said.
Mr Turner said the lorry bans should only be used where there is no alternative, and he said a better solution would be to provide better roads.
Vehicles could also be improved, thus making lorries more acceptable when they come close to people.
Industry is also helping the environment by running its vehicles more efficiently, he said. The same number of vehicles is on the road today as 25 years ago, but they are doing three times the work.
There is room for improvements such as better suspension, spray supression and quieter vehicles.