Archived press release

Mass London Rally To Support Traffic Reduction Law

17 January 1997

People from all over the country are expected to attend a mass rally and lobby of Parliament in central London on Wednesday, 22 January 1997 to support the Road Traffic Reduction Bill [1]. The Bill, which is being introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster (Bath), gets its Second Reading on Friday, 24 January. Over 220 MPs have already said that they will support the Bill.

The Road Traffic Reduction Bill has been promoted by Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and Friends of the Earth. If passed it would require the Government to draw up plans to achieve a 5 per cent reduction in traffic miles by 2005, and 10 per cent by 2010 [2].

Wednesday's rally is taking place at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster between 12:30pm and 2:15pm. Speakers will include Don Foster MP, David Taylor (Green Party), Charles Secrett (Director, Friends of the Earth) and Cynog Dafis (Plaid Cymru). A mass lobby of Parliament will take place from around 2.45pm.

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP, said:

"The Road Traffic Reduction Bill will be the single most important piece of transport legislation in decades. For the first time, the Government will have to plan transport in an integrated, strategic fashion. It will put in place policies to save industry £19 billion, prevent thousands of deaths from pollution each year and help millions from suffering the sheer hell of excess traffic".

Charles Secrett of Friends of the Earth said:

"Fifty years of car-orientated transport policies have left Britain with congested streets, polluted cities and a scarred countryside. But there is an alternative. The Road Traffic Reduction Bill will revolutionise our transport system to meet the economic, social and environmental needs of the country."

David Taylor, of the Green Party, said:

"Nobody doubts that there is a national problem of too much traffic. Current forecasts are that it could double within 30 years. That would be a nightmare. Faced with this both the 'do nothing' and 'build more roads' scenarios are irresponsible. To stop the damage to our health, to the economy and to the environment we need to reduce the amount of traffic on our roads"

Cynog Dafis, Plaid Cymru MP, said

"The current level of road traffic growth is one of the greatest threats to the quality of our lives, environmentally and socially and in the form of physical health. This Bill provides a framework that would enable us to begin tackling this problem. No wonder it is attracting such broad support"

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The Road Traffic Reduction Bill calls upon the Secretary of State to draw up a National Road Traffic Reduction Plan to achieve 5 per cent reductions by 2005 and 10 per cent reductions by 2010. It calls for the plan and reports to be debated annually by Parliament, thus ensuring a continuing discussion on transport policy in the UK. It calls on local authorities to draw up local measures for reducing traffic by encouraging cycling and walking and providing better public transport in their area.

The Road Traffic Reduction Bill is supported by over 220 members of Parliament from all political persuasions, 129 local authorities and over 500 local groups and associations.

[2] The problems of current traffic levels...

• Millions of people breathe air heavily polluted by exhaust fumes. 53 % of all nitrogen oxides, 90% of all carbon monoxide, 46% of all hydrocarbons and 47% of all black smoke emissions come from road traffic.
• Up to 15 million people could be suffering health problems caused by traffic fumes,according to researchers at Lancaster University.
• Up to 10,000 people die prematurely as a result of particulates pollution every year.
• Congestion on the roads costs the economy £19 billion every year, according to the CBI. Lost days at work and further costs of traffic accidents add £6.3 billion more to the bill.
• 50 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 10 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and 5 National parks are threatened by current trunk roads schemes.
• Global Warming: 22% of CO2 emissions, the main "greenhouse gas", come from road traffic. This threatens to wipe out the effect of reducing CO2 emissions from other sectors.
• Millions of people's quiet streets are being wrecked by "rat-running" and "outsider parking".
• 63% of people are exposed to night-time noise levels above World Health Organisation sleep criteria. During the day, 52% of people suffer levels exceeding WHO levels to prevent significant community annoyance. Traffic is the most frequently reported cause of external noise in homes.
  
• Small towns and villages are being wrecked by heavy lorries. Busy roads deter pedestrians from crossing them so that communities may become divided in two. Busy streets have less social interaction, and less social support networks. This can lead to increased psychiatric disorder, physical morbidity and mortality from all causes.
  
• Non-car owners have become increasingly immobilised as public transport has decreased. As elderly people face public transport cuts, they may be left with no way of getting about.
• Transport accounted for 33% of UK energy use in 1990, with road traffic using 80%of this.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust