The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley *
The Confederation of British Industry has calculated that traffic congestion in Britain costs £20 billion per year.
This figure represents the time wasted in traffic jams that would otherwise be productive. It does not, however, include the costs of the pollution it causes in terms of damage to the environment and preventable ill health.
Over the last few years there have been an ongoing rises in asthma, lung cancer and chest infections, that have their own economic and social cost.
In the centre of London, it is now often quicker to walk than to drive, with the average car speed down to 2.9 miles per hour. The key question with which the largest cities in the UK are wrestling is: Can they balance sustainability with economic growth and public support?
The rise in traffic is caused not just by increased car ownership but by changes in society. Consumers expect a constant supply of fresh produce and never to experience +++++ages of goods on the retailer’s shelves whether for the latest fashion item or electrical gadget. Manufacturers under pressure to trim costs and increase flexibility have switched to just in time deliveries of raw materials and components. These changes have created huge increases in traffic and congestion.
London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, seeking to pursue sustainable economic development and greater use of public transport, believes that action must be taken. He is taking what is seen in the UK as a major political initiative/risk by introducing congestion charging.
Other Councils are watching with interest to see if the scheme works. Under the scheme, vehicles entering the London charge zone during most of the day will have to pay £5. It is hoped that people will choose not to use their cars but to travel on public transport instead.
Unfortunately, public transport in London is already operating at capacity and is in need of major investment.
Councils seeking to lead the sustainability debate through acting as a catalyst for change are in a difficult position. On the one hand they want to be seen to be supporting the sustainability agenda. On the other hand it is a brave political administration that presses on with a major policy initiative that might prove very unpopular.
Sustainability in the UK is an emotive subject and varies in popularity with the economic cycle. When the economy is good sustainability is popular, gains a lot of attention and has general public support. When the economy is not so good the popularity of sustainability wanes. It still gets a lot of attention but the economic arguments surrounding it become more of a focus.
All Councils in the UK have Local Agenda 21 Strategies explaining how they are going to pursue sustainability and to integrate it into all of the Council’s policies and activities. Ranging from transport to waste disposal to air quality to land use planning, Councils are seen as pivotal in the pursuit of sustainability in the UK.
The key test of sustainability for Councils in the UK, however, is not the strategy, but what is delivered in practice.
* Malcolm Morley is a Strategic Director of South Oxfordshire District Council. This is one of a series of articles he is writing covering trends in the United Kingdom. He may be contacted by email at Malcolm.Morley @southoxon.gov.uk
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of his employer.
