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Why do we have Europe's most congested roads?

I don't think the Inrix report featured in the front page article is going to surprise many people. It not a big assumption to say that if London is Europe's most congested city that the roads in this part of west London are the worst in Europe for traffic.The really concerning thing is that there is every indication that things are going to get worse. Heathrow is clearly part of the issue and the airport, which is operating at record passenger levels, wants to grow further. There is a massive amount of building proposed along the A4/M4 corridor and, I believe, a similar amount along the A40. Claims that 'car free' developments don't generate extra traffic are delusional.There is some hope that planning gain from all these developments will deliver some new rail links but these would be a decade off. Similarly, confirming investment in new signalling for the Piccadilly line could mitigate the problem but if Labour was committed to that, it would have been mentioned in the manifesto.Ultimately, the only way to stop the problem getting worse and worse is to end the current policy of trying to concentrate housing starts in already densely populated areas of London and recognising that parts of the green belt need to be built on. The cost of ensuring that  west London's road infrastructure doesn't grind to a halt may be a switch of the emphasis of development to sleepy Buckinghamshire towns which have been given an Elizabeth Line stop. It looks like Labour is thinking that way when they mention liberalising planning laws.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 30d53 Comments ● 14d