Transport Select Committee recognises CIHT's contribution on the economics of the Strategic Road Investments.
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CIHT has been recognised in the Transport Select Committee’s report on Strategic Road Investments; in their report they cite CIHT’s evidence that stated:
“Road enhancement and new road schemes will not automatically deliver economic growth for disadvantaged areas […] achieving growth in the economy is dependent on many factors outside the transport sphere.”
The Transport Select Committee has published the results of its enquiry on the Strategic Road Investments, conducted earlier in the year, where it looked at collecting evidence on the lessons learnt from the investment in the English Strategic Road Network and whether the investment programme aligns with other policy priorities, such as decarbonisation, levelling up, productivity and growth.
Transport infrastructure and its accessibility is at the heart of the functioning of any economy. The provision of a strategic network of highways that can connect the key areas of the country and is well integrated with the local network is essential for the movement of people, goods and information.
CIHT has also encouraged DfT to provide supporting data on how the aim, set out in RIS2 and reinforced in the Initial Report for RIS3, of levelling up left behind areas, will be achieved together with other policy priorities.
As previously stated by CIHT in its 2021 Comprehensive Spending Report Submission,
“When it comes to climate action and levelling up CIHT sees investment in the local highway network as the biggest priority for transport investment…this is not about road building but about transforming communities. Planning and transport together can deliver all that the government wants but it needs investment in people to change. A strategy is needed across transport to ensure that we do not waste precious resources operating in silos all doing similar things differently.”
The Committee also advances evidence received on how:
“..accommodating traffic growth on the SRN and attempting to offset emissions by reducing tailpipe emissions poses a “risk” to achieving decarbonisation of transport by 2050”
and concerns about traffic demand management:
“no matter how many road schemes we build, there is less money and they are becoming more expensive, …. Maybe it is time to try some different solutions. Simply, it is because if you can only have a few road schemes here and there, they will move the congestion along rather than tackling it, but a system of demand management will actually address that congestion network-wide.”
As highlighted by the Committee, transport remains the biggest greenhouse gas contributor in the UK and the Government’s strategy for decarbonising transport by 2050 is reliant on a rapid switch to zero emissions vehicles. However, in all future scenarios modelled by the Department for Transport, traffic on the Strategic Road Network is forecast to increase, and there is a great risk that uptake of cleaner vehicles will not be fast enough to mitigate that. The Government’s determination to accommodate demand for new roads through investment without also considering steps to manage that demand is a risky strategy.
The Transport Select Committee is further inquiring on how the outcomes of transport investment are prioritised and appraised in our forthcoming inquiry on the Government’s strategic transport objectives.
The new inquiry will investigate the extent to which the Government takes a long-term, national and multi-modal approach to predicting, providing for, maintaining and developing the country’s transport needs. They will also assess what difference the adoption of clear, national strategic objectives for transport could make.
If you are interested in helping inform CIHT's response to this inquiry please contact technical@ciht.org.uk
For all press enquiries please email communications@ciht.org.uk
We need to talk about limiting traffic growth (ciht.org.uk)
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