Ministerial Statements about Road Building
"What I do accept as well is that building new road capacity is not something that we can do forever, and the Government has made clear.... we can't build our way out of congestion forever. We can't just add new roads to the system, we have to make better use of the existing road capacity. Of course you have to build new roads because some new road building is an essential part of dealing with congestion. Some new road building is an essential part of the whole mix."
Stephen Ladyman, Roads Minister – Today Programme, Radio 4, 3 July 2006
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today2_traffic_20060703.ram
"Thirty-five major road schemes have been completed since 2001 adding much needed capacity on some of our busiest roads Simply building more and more roads is not the answer. We need only to look at other countries which have built more and bigger roads in the past, only to see them fill up again to know that this is not a sustainable approach. And it is unacceptable in environmental terms."
Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport - Speech in York, 10 May http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_611647.hcsp
"Well, we will continue to invest in road capacity where it’s justified."
Douglas Alexander, Today Programme, Radio 4 - 10 May 2006 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today3_transport_20060510.ram
"Make no mistake, simply building more roads cannot be the answer Our answer is to continue to invest at record levels now - £1.9bn on our strategic road network to 2007-08 Total of 35 major trunk road and motorway schemes (each costing over £5m) completed since 2001; £300million allocated in 2005-08 for 100 smaller schemes (each less than £5m each) to improve traffic flows and reduce delays."
Alistair Darling, DfT press release - 14 February 2006 http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=187497&NewsAreaID=2
"I am delighted to be here today to mark the completion of this crucial M60 widening programme. This £140 million project will reduce congestion.... It's great news for motorists, commercial vehicle operators, and for businesses in the region - and demonstrates the Government's commitment to tackling congestion."
Stephen Ladyman, Speech at M60 opening - 27 June 2006 http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_611934.hcsp
"We've reached a stage where simply building more roads is unacceptable."
Stephen Ladyman, Speech on biofuels - 28 February 2006 http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_susttravel/documents/page/dft_susttravel_611270.hcsp
"No longer is it acceptable to fight traffic build-up by simply building more roads. And no more can we turn a blind eye towards the environmental impact of transport... As a government, we believe that tackling climate change is among the most important policy priorities of our time. "
Speech by Minister of State for Transport, Dr Stephen Ladyman, Energy
Savings Trust - 11 July 2006
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_612001.hcsp
"There has already been progress. Increased investment is starting to
make a difference. Over 100 road schemes have been completed. The M25 is being
widened.
But we also recognise that we cannot simply build our way out of the problems
we face. It would be environmentally irresponsible - and would not work. So
we must make our existing transport networks work more efficiently and in
a more environmentally friendly way."
Prime Minister Tony Blair in the last transport White Paper - Future of
Transport, 2004
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_031267.hcsp
“We cannot simply build our way out of these problems… transport
will be critical to our long-term goal of reducing carbon emissions.”
Prime Minister Tony Blair in appointment letter to Douglas Alexander
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_611648.hcsp
"Today there are 33 million vehicles on Britain's roads and that number
is growing. We cannot simply build our way out of congestion, which is a key
threat to long term economic growth, particularly in our towns and cities.
Dealing with climate change is a key long term challenge for transport. It
is not an optional extra. It is not something we can leave to future generations
to sort out.
I believe that if we make the right investments - if we make the responsible
choices - then we do not have to choose between a strong economy and sustaining
the environment.
By putting record investment into public transport, £1.6 billion for
local transport - up from £0.6 billion in 1998/9, coupled with developing
a range of measures, called 'smarter choices', we hope to give people a real
alternative to travelling by car.
Douglas Alexander in response to the PM's appointment letter
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_612000.hcsp
"There is no longer any serious scientific doubt that climate change
is real, accelerating and caused by human activities. Put simply, dealing
with it is perhaps the greatest long term challenge we all face.... We need
to give more people a real alternative to taking their car".
Douglas Alexander speech at the Transport Atmosphere and Climate conference
- 26 June 2006
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_susttravel/documents/page/dft_susttravel_611958.hcsp
