Many traffic-calming measures have been put in place in various cities around the country to try and get more people cycling for the benefit of their health and to help the environment. But the AA said this week that such measures could actually be increasing C02 emissions.
That was the view of AA president Edmund King at an energy, environment and transport forum in London this week. The AA thinks congestion can be eased through simpler means, like encouraging cycling and introducing more efficiently phased traffic lights.
Improving the fuel efficiency of cars may be more effective at cutting carbon emissions than ‘grandiose projects’ like the London Congestion Charge, said King, who also warned that some 20mph zones are being introduced without a proper assessment of their impact on CO2 emissions.
King said: “If we are smart about urban transport we can reduce CO2 and congestion without spending millions. Congestion and CO2 can be reduced by improving traffic flow through co-ordination of road works, phasing of lights and good parking policy.
“If we continually obstruct traffic with excessive traffic calming, we will increase congestion and CO2. New technology to improve fuel efficiency will be the biggest contribution to reducing CO2 from road transport.'
New 20mph speed limits have recently been introduced in parts of Oxford and Bristol to improve road safety an encourage cycling and walking in both cities, as well as reduce the number and severity of accidents, while places such as Leicester, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Islington and Glasgow all have a default 20mph limit.
Councillor Jon Rogers, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability, said of the scheme in Bristol: “We will be monitoring the effects of the 20mph areas in a number of ways, including emissions and noise pollution. The other criteria will be road safety and injuries, speeds, resident feedback, levels of cycling and walking before and after.”
Here in Southampton we just get long lines of cars queuing for cruise ships. ...
Whilst EV cars are an improvement over ICE cars, I think they're a distraction from the possibilities of e-bikes, e-scooters and e-cargo-bikes etc....
I like how drivers make the case for making monitoring covert, not overt.
She seemed a bit upset about a minor misjudgement that could have killed someone and is going to cause months of stress and inconvenience.
No we don't agree, personally I would take primary, even if only for a short period although I can understand why some riders might not want to...
And which looks very like the bag produced by indy bag manufacturer Wizard Works…...
If it was a 'no vehicles' sign (all white circle centre), it would mean cyclists could ride in the hours that HGVs and disabled drivers are allowed...
The bit at the start and end looks like a cycle lane, but the bit they drive on looks just like a patched filter lane for traffic lights.
Hey, you 4 execs helped run a company into the ground and have no jobs anymore... Come work for us because you have great experience in the...
£11.5k for a bike weighing over 8kg that's 2 fingers to customers let alone UCI