| Topic: | Reply | |
| Posted by: | Gordon Southwell | |
| Date/Time: | 15/04/21 12:06:00 |
Paul, this point has been better made by others before me but it does seem to me that you do seem to consider this issue as primarily a moral one. The problem from your perspective is that most of the rest of us lack your virtue and, if only we could be persuaded to recognise the error of our ways, things would get better. Unfortunately the issue is a lot more complex than that. The desire for cleaner air and safer roads is universal, despite what you might think, and travel patterns have adjusted a lot over the last two decades probably mainly because of increased motoring costs rather than anything else. This means that conducting policy in a way that targets what are deemed to be 'unnecessary' journeys are doomed to failure because the overwhelming majority of motor vehicle trips are necessary and can't be substituted with a more sustainable form of transport. The small number of recidivist car users who use the car when they could easily walk or cycle will be difficult to discourage by any policy and besides, these journeys are short, and will therefore account for a very small proportion of vehicles on the road at anyone time. Not owning a car does necessarily make you not part of the problem. All the services and utilities you receive plus visitors, and the goods that are delivered not just to your doorstep means that your presence in London generates extra traffic. I would further argue that my short trip to the supermarket in my ULEZ compliant car is better for the environment than the refrigerated diesel van that will bring groceries to your doorstep. This is a complex and possibly intractable issue that you would be wrong to view as some sort of moral crusade. A desire to punish car users out of a misplaced sense of superior virtue is not going to bring us cleaner air or safer roads. This is not to say that we don't need to act. Population growth in Ealing in particular is going to lead to significant local challenges and we shouldn't fall for the lie that car free developments don't generate more traffic. Ultimately the only way we can improve the situation on our roads to a meaningful degree is by better more accessible public transport. Hopefully when the government stops playing games with TfL over its finances it can get back to working out ways to deliver the services we are going to need. Even if they achieve that the situation at Gunnersbury Park looks problematic. If all ten pitches were in use during the course of an afternoon it is hard to see how utter gridlock could be avoided at the car park entrance. |