We would all like to see less pollution. And we would all like to see emissions from cars cut and as many practical measures introduced as possible to make our city air cleaner. But a simple headline grabbing demand to ban cars is not the answer. A less hysterical approach is required.
Whenever
the levels of pollution rise, the first group of people in the firing line are
motorists. Mike Weatherley,
parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion sets out what he sees as the real
reasons behind the intoxicated air we have to breath. Mike said:
“Motorists
are an easy target when it comes to pollution.
But it is worth remembering that for so many people cars are a necessity
and not a luxury. For disabled
people, travelling by car is in some cases the only option. Salesman, need to get from one appointment to the next via
the most direct route. This is more
often than not by road. The
car is at the heart of our transport system and it needs a Government that
supports it rather than persecutes it. There’s no point being anti-car. We
should all be pro-travel. A properly balanced transport policy would support
every kind of transport so that people can get about in the way that suits them
best. “
“A
Conservative Government would be the intelligent friend of the motorist. I
don’t think the car is evil. I don’t even think it is a necessary evil. I
think it is a necessity, which for many people remains a pleasure. Whilst
we all wish that all journeys could be by train and bus, and I do travel to work
everyday by train, the reality is that we have less traffic than, say, London,
but have we have higher pollution levels. So
why is that? Majority of cars in Brighton and Hove are sitting waiting for
traffic lights to change. This is
what really causes the pollution, not the volume of cars, but motorist’s
inability to drive freely through the city.
It’s hardly surprising that Preston Circus is one of the pollution
hotspots. Traffic is continually
stopping and starting along the A23. All
this is primarily caused by the traffic light phasing around St Peter’s
Church.”
There
are 6 principles that guide Conservative policy on transport:
1.
Government should give travellers genuine choice about the mode of
transport they use. Forcing people to choose between walking, cycling, driving,
or public transport is unnecessary interference
2.
Long-term transport success will come from steady and predictable
investment policies, sheltered from non-stop political interference
3.
To achieve the necessary levels of investment over the long-term requires
private sector money in increasing quantities
4.
Long-term investment is as important for roads as it is for rail.
5.
We can learn from other countries far better than we have in the past.
6.
Too many transport decisions have been politicised; we need the transport
professionals
to take more of the key decisions.
And
what about the half empty bus lanes. In
January, Conservative’s tabled amendments to the Traffic Management Bill, when
it was debated in the House of Commons. This
would allow vehicles with two or more adult passengers to use bus lanes,
and for any vehicle to use bus lanes at night or in the late evening if no bus
services were operating.
Mike
Weatherley explained,
“Rather
than hammering the motorist with ever higher taxes, we should be adopting
sensible, practical measures to improve the flow of traffic across Brighton and
Hove roads and cut journey times. This
would have a dramatic effect on the pollution levels in the city.
“It’s
time to end the farce of half-used bus lanes, like the notorious M4 bus lane. We
should let vehicles use bus lanes at times when there aren’t any bus services
operating, and allow vehicles with two or more adult passengers to use the
lanes. This would encourage people to work out car-sharing arrangements with
their neighbours, without exacerbating the school run.
“By
contrast, the Government is planning to extend the aggressive use of CCTV on bus
lanes to make it easier to fine motorists who use bus lanes. As ever, the
Government appears more interested in using drivers as a cash cow than actually
getting Brighton and Hove moving, and reducing pollution levels.”
Labour
and Liberal Demorcrats are both in favour of congestion charges and use the so
called “environmental” argument to justify this stealth tax.
Last year in their alternative Queen’s Speech the Lib Dems said that
they would….. “allow
local authorities to use congestion charges and private non-residential parking
after necessary improvements to public transport, and put in place the framework
to introduce road charging based on distance.”
Mike
Weatherley said: “Motorist’s are already pouring money into treasury
coffers. Just on fuel tax and VAT
alone the Chancellor collects nearly £23 billion.
Taxing motorist off the road has been proved not to work and will do
nothing to reduce pollution.”
As
for the Greens, well they have gone even more off the rails.
They want to bring in an aviation fuel tax, and ban night flights.
In
Brighton and Hove, cars are chasing too few car parking spaces.
Mike Weatherley said:
“I
would like to see more parking made available and the removal of bus only lanes
where this causes traffic bottlenecks without improving bus speeds
significantly. Only
by letting the traffic run freely will pollution come down.”