PosimBuchanan
Page 31
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IT is, perhaps, symbolic of the magnitude of the traffic problem ahead I of this country that the Buchanan and Crowther Reports (published on Wednesday see pages 56 and 57) should be in a glossy, wellillustrated 50s. book of some 250 pages. At first glance such a sophisticated publication might seem extravagant and unnecessary; but subsequent examination of the reports suggests that the approach is the one which might have the biggest impact. Certainly " Traffic in Towns" is an impressive document and unique both in its clarity and its comprehensive embrace of what may well prove to be the major problem of the last decades of this century. Whether, however, many of the public will pay 50s. to read this excellent document is another matter!
Overall, the logic and vision are unquestionable. This country has to live with the motor vehicle, the population of which is going to double within the next 10 years. Every user of the roads has a demand, some more pressing (as in the case of lorries and buses) than others. Without any doubt, the answer must lie—as both Professor Buchanan and Sir Geoffrey Crowther suggest—in a central, executive authority dictating town planning and traffic engineering through regional control. The two subjects cannot continue indefinitely to be nibbled at, without control, by hundreds of local authorities.
The question is, will a Government act on these reports? They cculd be political dynamite and so be shelved. Such a course would be wrong. What must now follow is vigorous and urgent action.