Funding for new transport is ‘heavily weighted’ towards new roads at the expense of sustainable transport, new research reveals.
The Campaign for Better Transport monitored spending on transport projects by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and discovered spending on roads was prioritised over more environmentally friendly means of transport.
Their research found 50% of new transport projects spend had been allocated for new road capacity and two thirds of all bids on road-based schemes, while only 3% was spent on walking and cycling.
Bridget Fox from the Campaign for Better Transport said: ‘Our research clearly shows that the balance of proposed LEP funding is still far too heavily weighted to new roads.
‘What we need to see is a much more joined-up approach to transport planning, with a modern public transport system connecting people’s homes with their place of work.’
Ms Fox also urged LEPs to be more ‘transparent’ and ‘accountable’ in how they spend their money, and said the Campaign would like to see more local people involved in deciding how projects are selected.
‘Many new road schemes are at best unnecessary and at worst are damaging in environmental and social terms: LEPs would serve the local economy better with more investment in alternative sustainable transport options,’ she added.
