Low Traffic Vision
A Low Traffic Vision for a Low Carbon Future
Climate secretary Ed Miliband is currently drafting a new climate strategy (or ‘Carbon Budget Delivery Plan’, to give it its full name). This must now be published by 2nd May, after the courts ruled twice that the last Government’s climate strategies were legally inadequate.
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is working on an Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS), which is due out later this year.
Domestic transport is responsible for 28% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and is now the UK economy’s biggest carbon-emitting sector, having failed to make the reductions seen in other sectors (notably energy). So Ed Miliband really needs Heidi Alexander to produce a well-integrated transport strategy, if his new net zero strategy is to be legally compliant.
Switching to electric vehicles (EVs) is obviously part of the solution. Yet motor manufacturers, road-building companies and others would love MPs and officials to think this is all that’s needed, and that they can ignore all the evidence that steep reductions in motor-vehicle use are also essential for the UK to meet its carbon budgets.
In any case, simply replacing petrol and diesel vehicles with EVs would do nothing about congestion, road danger, ill health and the lack of options for people who cannot drive for whatever reason, including children and young people.
So please email your MP today, asking them to write to Ed Miliband and Heidi Alexander. Say you want them to support you in calling for their climate and integrated transport strategies to include a vision for a Low Traffic Future – not least because of all the other massive benefits this would bring!
We’ve made this easy to do. But feel free to edit our suggested email, adding in your personal reasons for why this matters, or specific examples of sustainable transport improvements needed in your constituency.
“Less traffic means safer, healthier streets, lower emissions, and smoother journeys for all. More and better public transport must be top priority for reducing traffic, while rail freight and sustainable local deliveries should take priority over HGVs and small vans. For this vision to be realised we need a properly integrated transport system, where sustainable modes are the affordable, practical choice for many more journeys.”
“Successive governments have failed to get a grip on the problem of ever-rising traffic levels across the country. We’ve poured billions into car dependency – like building new roads that just create more traffic – while public transport just isn’t good enough, and safe walking and cycling routes barely exist. This Labour government needs to make an explicit commitment to tackling traffic and car dependency, for our health, for the economy, and for the planet.”
“We have become so used to prioritising cars, parked or moving, over people. But with a little imagination, it’s clear to see how reducing our reliance on vehicles would support the health, economy, and wellbeing of our communities. At Living Streets, we welcome the call for investment in clean and healthy transport options, so that people have a genuine choice about how to travel. A new Low Traffic Vision would help create safe, attractive streets where people can breathe clean air and discover the many benefits of walking and wheeling.”
“There’s much to learn from London’s leadership in tackling motor traffic, not least the importance of political bravery. Yet Transport for London has shown that, even in London, a majority of motor vehicle journeys could still fairly easily be made by other modes. We hope Heidi Alexander can now draw on her experiences in London, and deliver a bold integrated transport strategy to rapidly reduce private motor vehicle use wherever possible. That is what our future generations need.”
“Labour has made a good start on bringing buses and train services under public control, which should result in better and more affordable services. Yet it also needs to be bolder in tackling our over-reliance on cars and trucks. Delivering a Low Traffic Vision by shifting funding from road schemes towards clean and healthy alternatives would be a much better way to grow the economy, improve opportunities, protect public health and achieve ‘net zero’.”
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What does our vision for a Low Traffic Future look like?
