Transport and the economy

Memorandum from Richard Starling (TE 03)

If we are to learn from last winter (business experts predicting the Arctic temperatures could cost Britain's economy up to £690m a day), Government now has a major opportunity to invest to prevent £billions worth of loss to the national-economy, by taking a fresh look at winter-roads' management. Existing methodology must now be reviewed and updated to challenge and ease the heavy reliance upon reactive & 'blanket' salt-spreading which is currently the main defence against icy roads and gridlock. The success of this reactive is weakened by an interdependent sequence of procedures which link Met Office weather- prediction to the logistic of getting gritting lorries out & back from centralised-depots. From an enironmental-viewpoint, each winter's salt

consumption cannot be recovered. Neither can the investment.

Of particular influence upon traffic-flows are the judgement-calls about whether to salt-spread at all. Is priority given to a control of the cost of spreading, rather than to safer and open roads? These judgements are made locally, but may inadvertently worsen traffic management in other parts of the roads' network. There are no independent-audits of the winter-service performance of Local Authorities.

I fully understand and appreciate the financial prudency which models Council highways' winter-service. However, that approach may cul-de- sac the introduction of more modern methods, and seemed to contribute to the difficulties seen on last winter's roads. What I saw, last winter, was a disharmony between highways' authorities, police and media. Warnings to motorists must be given in a stronger, simpler, consistent, and more timely manner. The same message from media sources. Once again, it seemed ok to react to the snow and ice, rather than to harmonise, prepare and control.

Local Authorities would stand and applaud if the DfT now took the initiative in this matter. The alternative is for Central Government to continue with the same old policy-stance, and add a self-imposed, seasonal pressure to the other challenges which the economy-faces.

September 2010