3ood roads not Fares subsidies
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000 ROADS are more important than subsidies, says .ansport Secretary Kenneth Clarke. In the Commons last eek, he said that local authorities should face up to the reality at restoring roads to suitable standards may be a much more portant priority than keeping down the level of bus fares.
There was no argument )out the desirability of aintaining roads. The worst Fects of last winter had been I roads maintained by local ithorities, since trunk roads id motorways for which the wernment was responsible ?.re better made — but it was )t appropriate for the wernment to tell local autirides how much of their ansport grant to use on ads, 'le said.
Peter Fry (Tory, Wellingbough) said that minor roads ,d been almost totally glected and county survers generally agreed that our ad system had deteriorated bstantially over the past .elve months.
Not enough was being spent stop roads getting worse — ouei he accepted that Insport had to have its share the cuts in public expendi7e. But the road system was sential for our economic rival, which could not suc without an efficient road rhe debate coincided with release by Transport Min ister Norman Fowler of a document setting out the Government policy for trunk roads, which stated that spending on new trunk roads was likely to remain significantly lower in real terms than in the early 1970s. Investment in new and improved roads would continue to be needed on a substantial scale at least until the late 1980s.
Almost as important as the M25 — the most urgent task — was the completion of other routes carrying heavy industrial traffic, especially those — such as the routes to the ports — which would aid the development of exports.
The Government aimed to create a climate in which theatre could be fair competition between the different forms of transport, explained Mr Howell. Although there would be continuing financial support for public transport services, the Government would not seek to restrict transport users' freedom of choice for inter-urban travel or for freight carriage.