Plans for a major new Government scheme to relieve congestion on some of the UK’s busiest roads have been unveiled by George Osborne.

 

In a colossal nationwide construction project, the potential plans as part of Chancellor Osborne’s growth review will see ‘express lanes’ built alongside existing sections of motorways and A-roads, with drivers billed per journey in the new fast lane.

 

With cash from the scheme going straight into the coffers of the private sector though, Ministers believe the potential new project will help keep the country’s road network free from a pay structure that could see many motorists driven off the road.

 

Initially, roads earmarked for the project include the A14, a major bottleneck slowing cargo from the port of Felixstowe to the backbone of the country’s motorway network, the M1 and M6.

 

With automatic number plate recognition keeping a watchful eye over the proposed new express lanes there’ll be no getting away with ‘wandering into’ the new congestion-free carriageway either – fines will be levied on chancing drivers who stray into the new pay lane.

 

But with the motorist already feeling the pinch of heavy road tax and soaring fuel prices, many users of UK roads are already opposed to the new project.

 

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Keith Peat of the Association of British Drivers said, “drivers already pay £50 billion a year in motoring taxes, of which only £7 billion goes back into motoring. Many drivers will feel we deserve the very best highways and should not have to pay extra.”

 

Some Ministers have also expressed concern that the public could see the proposed plans as dragging Britain back towards a blanket road pricing structure as well as creating resentment in less wealthy motorists as more well-off drivers take advantage of the new lanes.

 

Director general of the CBI, John Cridland, told the Daily Mail that the initiative should be brought forward as investors were ready to sink millions into the new scheme adding, “It is money on my members’ balance sheets that pays in return for an income in future years.”

 

However, with recent controversy surrounding the proposal to increase the national motorway speed limit to 80 mph, this latest news regarding the ‘pay to go faster’ express lanes is unlikely to help that case for reducing congestion by raising the speed limit.

 

The full initiative as part of the Chancellor’s growth review will be unveiled next week.

 

Source: http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/articles.aspx?...entid=159851517

 

So never mind that drivers are ALREADY paying WAY too much to drive right now! I presume this won't go through but my f***ing god... Being able to drive faster if you are rich enough is possibly one of the worst 'proposals' yet from Gideon. Of course the Daily Mail want this put through asap :rolleyes:

and George Osborne continues to prove that he is a f***ing idiot.

I know! Because people don't pay enough to use the over-congested, poorly surfaced diabolical road system with pointless roadworks. Let's make them pay more!!!

 

Fucking cunts.

I know! Because people don't pay enough to use the over-congested, poorly surfaced diabolical road system with pointless roadworks. Let's make them pay more!!!

 

Fucking cunts.

And how do you propose to improve the road surface without road works?

And how do you propose to improve the road surface without road works?

With roadworks with a point. The amount of time I have lost stuck in traffic for utterly pointless roadworks is insane. I just want to see people doing something instead of being stuck at a set of temp lights while they fix a hole on the pavement the size of a 5p. Or more commonly in fife, a lane closed for absolutely no reason at all.

I hardly think councils/governments are wasting money on entirely unnecessary roadworks when there are so many dire road surfaces out there.

 

Anyway I think this is a decent idea. Of course nothing the Tories have ever proposed has been well received in this godforsaken forum but regardless of whether it's the wealthy who can afford to use the new lanes, there's no arguing that traffic will be removed from the roads and congestion will be eased. It's really not much different from the M6 toll which I think has been a superb success. I wonder if the same complainers in this topic were bitching then... doubtful seeing as lovely Labour put that one into action.

The M6 toll road is actually amazing. So empty, and no roadworks! You'd be amazed at what they spend money on up north. My town has more traffic lights than is actually necessary.

We are at the stage where we have a transport nightmare due to governmental incompetence for over 25 years. We see nothing different today. All governments seem to have either ignored transport altogether or come along with half-baked schemes such as this which may deal with the problem in the short term but do nothing to fix our badly dilapidated road, rail (and to an extent) air arteries.

 

We have a road network falling apart and essentially is ALWAYS going to be unable from now on in to sustain the sorts of numbers who want to travel by car. In this modern world of very staunch environmentalist thinking a road building scheme akin to the 1950s is an impossibility and personally for most would be seen as wrong. What NEEDS to be encouraged to get people off the roads is a clear 25 to even 50 year policy for growth in public transport through brand new, ambitious long term schemes. Light-rail schemes such as the extension of the Manchester Metrolink are absolutely essential. Yet in Edinburgh their light rail scheme has been cut to pieces due to sloppy organisation and finances flying all over the place. Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff are all locales which should be seeing this sort of thing. Our railway is essentially at capacity with numbers equalling those immediately pre-Beeching Axe on a network half the size. We urgently need electrification of the Great Western Mainline, the building of a Second high speed line to the North from London. With our population increasing to 70 million people in a very short period we urgently need to look realistically at long term transportation solutions. It's all good and well focusing on education, the NHS and whatever else but this MUST come to the forefront of the political consciousness otherwise we'll end up in economic and social quagmire.

 

 

While I don't think it's that wonderful an idea, at least it shows that the Tories are slowly U-turning from Britain's baffling austerity measures (although, of course, repeated throughout the world) with schemes like this.

Government incompetence on public transport goes back a lot longer than 25 years. Part of the problem is that governments know that any scheme is fairly long-term which means at least two or three elections before the benefits are realised. We really need to look at what countries like France and, even more so, Germany have done. The German rail system is superb.

My first thought on reading this topic was "so it's a toll road... and?". Wouldn't go as far as saying I was flat out in favour of it but compared to most of the government's ideas it actually sounds quite promising.

Naaaah, this'll just end up getting congested too...

Naaaah, this'll just end up getting congested too...

The M6 Toll road is usually deserted. It knocks so much time of a trip round Birmingham.