The government is to limit measures councils can take to curb car traffic including 20mph speed restrictions and bus lanes, the Guardian understands, under plans that have alarmed travel groups and risks a row with local authorities.
In another sign Rishi Sunak hopes to gain support by prioritising the needs of motorists, other plans expected to be announced next week include limits on local authorities’ abilities to levy fines from traffic cameras and restrictions on enforcing box junction infringements.
The plans, which have not been discussed with councils, are likely to prompt concern at a further centralisation of powers and the sense that Sunak wants to make life easier for car drivers at the expense of people who use the bus, cycle or walk for travel.
It reinforces his pledge in July to crack down on what he called “anti-motorist policies” after the unexpected Conservative win in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection, which was aided by concerns about the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez).
Announcing a wider set of driver-favouring policies at the Tory party conference could help Sunak deflect attention from political pressures generated by the continued uncertainty over whether the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 rail line will be scrapped, something he declined to clarify more than a dozen times during a round of media interviews on Thursday.
However, the prospect of limiting councils’ powers to improve the roads for not just cyclists and pedestrians but also bus passengers could provoke another controversy, especially in Manchester, where buses have been brought back under public control with the aim of massively increasing the numbers of people who use them.
The original article contains 731 words, the summary contains 275 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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The government is to limit measures councils can take to curb car traffic including 20mph speed restrictions and bus lanes, the Guardian understands, under plans that have alarmed travel groups and risks a row with local authorities.
In another sign Rishi Sunak hopes to gain support by prioritising the needs of motorists, other plans expected to be announced next week include limits on local authorities’ abilities to levy fines from traffic cameras and restrictions on enforcing box junction infringements.
The plans, which have not been discussed with councils, are likely to prompt concern at a further centralisation of powers and the sense that Sunak wants to make life easier for car drivers at the expense of people who use the bus, cycle or walk for travel.
It reinforces his pledge in July to crack down on what he called “anti-motorist policies” after the unexpected Conservative win in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection, which was aided by concerns about the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez).
Announcing a wider set of driver-favouring policies at the Tory party conference could help Sunak deflect attention from political pressures generated by the continued uncertainty over whether the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 rail line will be scrapped, something he declined to clarify more than a dozen times during a round of media interviews on Thursday.
However, the prospect of limiting councils’ powers to improve the roads for not just cyclists and pedestrians but also bus passengers could provoke another controversy, especially in Manchester, where buses have been brought back under public control with the aim of massively increasing the numbers of people who use them.
The original article contains 731 words, the summary contains 275 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!