PR345_P28-31_Marstrand.qxp_PR345_p28-31 11/01/2021 16:34 Page 28
ROADSPACE
Road traffic is a COVID emergency Unless the government takes a hands-on approach to Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes, motor traffic will continue its upward trajectory and cycling will diminish, warns Lucy Marstrand-Taussig
Shift: A Bold Vision for Walking and Cycling was announced in July 2020 alongside the new National Cycle Design Guidance LTN 1/20 and Active Travel funding. Schoolchildren and commuters were urged by Government to cycle or walk.
Change in emissions 2013-2018 10%
C
28 | JANUARY 2021 | PARKING REVIEW
0% -10% -20% -30% -40% -50% Surface transport
Aviation
Agriculture & LULUCF
Buidings
F-gases
Industry
Shipping
Waste
-60% Power
OVID-19 has forced the government to intervene in most spheres of life: locking down the nation, a multi-billion-pound furlough scheme, cancelling exams and closing theatres. From employment to health, education, sport, culture, and public transport, our lives have been regulated in a way we would have found unbelievable a year ago. But one area has remained largely untouched – road transport. Since the early 1990s, despite increased emphasis on walking and cycling policy, governments have failed to comprehensively increase cycling levels; 2% of trips are cycled in the UK compared with 10% in Germany and 26% in The Netherlands. Meanwhile, motor traffic on side roads has increased by a staggering 44% in the last ten years. Surface transport, in contrast to other sectors, has induced rising CO2 levels1 (see graph). Most car trips are short; a quarter are less than one mile, 60% less than five miles2. So there is vast potential for many of these trips to be done on foot or cycle. With COVID it became clear that pressure on the road network would increase as people avoided public transport. More short trips needed to be done on foot or cycle to avoid gridlock and more COVID-linked pollution3. Government stepped in. Gear
Changes in sectoral emissions between 2013 and 2018; building emissions in this chart are temperature-adjusted. Source: BEIS (2019) 2017 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions; final figures: CCC calculations
