The first half of this series focused on general transport issues – not only those that need to be addressed under devolution but are key to managing transport after independence too.
These final five parts are what you’ve been waiting for. It’s time for specifics, including a look at some of the transport policies available to us after independence.
The first stop on that journey is roads and active travel.
Let’s assume the new criteria for road schemes, outlined as part of the Welsh Government’s Roads Review, will continue to be national policy for the foreseeable future, up to and including post-independence.
It’s been misrepresented by some sections of the media – and by certain politicians looking to score points – as a “ban on building new roads”. That’s not true.
The policy means that building new roads won’t be considered the first option when dealing with a traffic problem, with proposed new roads needing to hit a higher bar to be approved. So it’s a presumption against building new roads unless they meet these new tests:
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If a road project passes these tests it’s likely to go forward. Some schemes are still going ahead after the review (you can see some of these listed in Part V) – hence why calling it a “ban on road building” is a lie.
That doesn’t mean the policy is flawless or lacks unintended consequences.
Much like the soon-to-be-introduced 20mph speed limit on certain urban roads, the policy has been communicated terribly and poorly scrutinised.
It’s been approached with a certain high-handedness – something that’s become a regular feature in Wales of late – and the resulting pushback by populists successfully led to it being re-labelled “a road-building ban” when it isn’t.
As is also the case in Wales, the government and supporters of the policy have been overly-defensive, with the report’s authors seemingly thrown under a bus (excuse the pun) to deflect criticism over the poor levels of consultation.
The biggest/most obvious flaw is that it doesn’t take into account that most road traffic isn’t going to disappear over the coming decades, only decarbonise. Electric and other zero-emission vehicles still need trunk roads with grade-separated junctions, will still end up in traffic jams, will still speed and will still kill people etc. All while producing little to no direct emissions.
Unless the alternative (i.e. public transport) is world-class, we take to remote and home working in the numbers the Welsh Government hope, or we see some kind of Dutch-style groundswell movement towards active travel (no sign of that yet either), pragmatism is being sacrificed in the name of idealism and paternalism.
As mentioned in Part IV, experimenting is good but there has to be a willingness to abandon experiments if they don’t work – and that includes the Roads Review.
Given the criteria, it’s impossible to draw up a shortlist of future/post-independence road projects without a detailed technical analysis.
