Using the hard shoulder at peak traffic times will reduce congestion, says Ruth Kelly, Transport Secretary.Motorists could soon be driving on the hard shoulder of approximately 500 miles of England’s motorways.
Opening up the hard shoulder to traffic is a cost-effective way to relieve congestion at busy times.
A successful pilot scheme has been running on the M42 near Birmingham since September 2006. A Department for Transport feasibility study, published on 4 March 2008, has identified a number of other motorways in England that would benefit from using the hard shoulder as an extra lane.
They include:
- Large sections of the M1, M6 and M62
- Sections of the M27 around Southampton
- Sections of the M4/5 near Bristol
- Sections of the M23, M20, M3 and M4 that feed into the M25.
The move is part of a range of measures aimed at tackling road congestion. Further funding will also be made available for innovative local schemes, including local congestion charging, with the L200 million per year Transport Innovation Fund extended for an extra four years until 2018/19.
However, experience shows that new road capacity has to be properly managed if it is not simply to fill up.
There is a compelling argument for car-share or charged lanes, which have been used for some time in the US. Access to car-share lanes is limited to vehicles carrying passengers, with single drivers willing to pay a toll. I intend to explore the possibility of taking a similar approach here where we are adding new capacity.
Work will now begin in earnest to identify proposals for specific stretches of the motorway network. As with the M42 trial, safety will remain a vital factor in all further work.
Further information
- To find out more, click on the highlighted links below
- A Special Report on car sharing, by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton
- Statement on tackling congestion on our roads by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly
- Department for Transport feasibility study into hard shoulder running
