Lorries in Towns
Page 17
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I ORD CHESHAM, Joint Parliamentary
Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, refused to rise to the bait when he was asked to tell the Upper House last week about plans "he evidently knows" for dealing with heavy lorries in streets.
"That is the key to a fairly lengthy debate," he commented—and told Lord Morrison of Lambeth, who had requested the information, that if the matter was put on the Order Paper he would be delighted to deal with it.
Earlier. Lord Boothby had asked when the Government intended to impose restrictions upon the hours during which heavy commercial lorries would he allowed to use the streets of cities.
Important changes are to be made in the highways organization of the Ministry of Transport to meet the growing needs of the national road programme and to ensure the best use of the engineering staff. The chief engineer, Mr. J. F. A. Baker, will become joint head of the highways organization with the deputy secretary, Mr. R. N. Heaton. In future, Mr. Baker will be known as the director of highway engineering. There will be a new deputy to cover the whole field of professional work and this post will be filled by Mr. J. G. Smith, at present a deputy chief engineer, who will be known as chief highway engineer. These changes will in the main take effect during the course of 1964.
When Mr. R. E. Bottrill moves to South Shields Corporation on January 1, 1964, to succeed Mr. J. Crawford, who is retiring, his place as transport manager at West Hartlepool will be taken by Mr. T. J. Sheppard. A native of Essex, Mr. Sheppard began his transport career with Southend Corporation Transport, rising to the position of senior schedules clerk. In 1956 he moved north to take up an appointment as chief traffic assistant, West Hartlepool Corporation transport. He later became traffic manager, and in May, 1961. was promoted to his present position of deputy manager.
Mr. D. James has been appointed Press officer of the Dowty Group in succession to Mr. H. Nichols, who is retiring. Before joining Dowty, Mr. James was for two years information officer of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. From 1951 to 1961 he was responsible for Press and public relations activities at Gloster Aircraft Company and itS subsidiary companies.
Any general restriction on the movement of heavy commercial lorries would have implications for industry, observed Lord Chesham. In towns, where speeds for all vehicles were severely restricted, the delays imposed upon private cars by heavy commercial vehicles were not such as to warrant discrimination against the latter, having regard to the wide economic consequences involved.
Lord 13oothby said that if very heavy vehicles were allowed to crawl over the streets of towns at all hours of the day and night, traffic within•the next two or three years would grind to a-halt.
Lord Chesham replied: "Just as much as I realize, as envisaged in the Buchanan Report, that if private cars containing one person per car are allowed to fill the streets then industry, too, would grind to a halt."
Lord Boothby then asked:. "Why do you not deal with them both?" and Lord Chesham replied that this was in course of action: