I was very pleased to see that Jesse Norman (Letters, July 18) and I are in agreement.
New road building in and around Hereford will not reduce congestion in Hereford.
My reference (July 11) to DfT reports draws attention to the evidence that new roads do not reduce congestion.
On the contrary they increase it, and I do not see these inconvenient truths receiving the wide publicity they deserve when councillors discuss the bypass.
New roads generate new traffic and this means more jams, longer queues and an increase in journey times, all of which will damage health and damage the local economy.
I also agree with Mr Norman when he says “this is a huge strategic decision, whose effects will last for decades” and that is why we should not waste £150-£200 million on something that will make things worse when there are detailed evidence based non-road building options known as “smarter choices” and available on the DfT web site.
Dr John Whitelegg
Editor
World Transport Policy and Practice
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