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Government planning car-share m-way lanes
4 July 2004
Government plans to introduce dedicated motorway lanes for drivers sharing their cars could help cut congestion and pollution, but must not be used as an excuse for widening roads Friends of the Earth said today.
Today's Observer reports that Transport Secretary Alistair Darling will unveil plans later this week for special lanes for the exclusive use of high occupancy vehicles carrying two or more people. But, the paper says, "it is understood that the initial British schemes will be introduced where roads are already being widened, or the hard shoulder will be opened to create an extra lane".
Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner Tony Bosworth said:
"We support initiatives that encourage people to use their cars less or car share. But these latest Government plans must not be used as an excuse to justify new road-widening schemes. Experience shows that creating extra road-capacity inevitably leads to more car journeys, which in turn creates more congestion and more pollution. The Government must urgently develop a transport policy that gets people out of their cars and on to less damaging forms of transport instead."
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
