Roads in the United Kingdom
"Transport 2010; The 10 Year Plan" states that the basic principle is that "people travel safely and feel secure whether they are on foot or bicycle, in a car, on a train, or bus, at sea or on a plane".
[11] Since 2008, location marker posts have appeared on motorways and major A roads in England,[citation needed] situated generally at intervals of 500 metres (though the units are not given).
[16] A new standard was set in April 2015 to formally designate certain high-quality routes as Expressways,[17] but whether this will result in any existing road classifications changing is unclear.
Primary destinations are usually cities and large towns, to which, as a result of their size, a high volume of traffic is expected to go.
However, in rural areas, smaller towns or villages may be given primary status if located at junctions of significant roads: for example, Llangurig in Wales and Crianlarich in Scotland.
As a further example, Scotch Corner in northern England is not even a village—merely a hotel and a few other buildings—yet has the status of a primary destination due to its location at the interchange of the A1 and A66 roads.
[27][28][29] For a road to be classed as a dual carriageway, the two directions of traffic flow must be physically separated by a central reservation.
[32] Since 1937, roads have been funded from general taxation with all motoring duties, including VAT, being paid directly to the Treasury.
[39] In June 2008, the Road Safety Foundation reported that 30 per cent of the primary route network in Great Britain failed to rate as safe, and a quarter of all motorways were outside the safest risk band.
When collisions involving motorcyclists are removed from the analysis, the A61 between Barnsley and Wakefield was found to be the most dangerous road in Britain.
This rural single carriageway saw an 88 per cent drop in the number of fatal or serious collisions in the last six years, taking it from a medium risk road to one of the safest.
According to the Foundation, this has been achieved by introducing traffic lights, speed limit reductions and village pedestrian facilities.
[45] A timber road was preserved in peat in Geldeston, Norfolk, with tree rings suggesting a date of 75 BC, probably built by the Iceni tribe.
[46] Roads built in the first phase of Roman occupation (43–68 AD) connected London with the ports used in the invasion (Chichester and Richborough), and with the earlier legionary bases at Colchester (Camulodunum), Lincoln (Lindum), Wroxeter (Viroconium), Gloucester and Exeter.
Part of the Scottish Lowlands came under Roman control in 142 AD, and the Antonine Wall was constructed on the northern boundary.
The primary function of Roman roads was to allow the rapid movement of troops and military supplies, but it also provided vital infrastructure for trade and the transport of goods.
Other roadways developed to meet the needs of pilgrims visiting shrines, such as Walsingham, and for transporting corpses from isolated communities to local graveyards.
[57] The riots ceased after some ringleaders, John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) and David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr), were convicted and transported to Australia.
[59] The Local Government Act 1888 created borough and county councils with responsibility for maintaining the major roads.
[52] After complaints about the first tram companies damaging the road surface, Parliament introduced the Tramways Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict.
c. 78), making tram companies responsible for the maintenance of the shared surface of the tramway and several feet either side, as a condition of being granted a licence.
[62] The new Ministry of Transport created a classification system for the important routes connecting large population centres or for through traffic, with the definitive list being published in 1922/3 and revised in 1926/7.
[64] During the 1930s, both the Institution of Highway Engineers and The County Surveyors' Society had published plans for a network of high-speed roads,[65] whilst the Minister of Transport, Leslie Burgin, also visited the autobahn under construction in Germany.
[66] During World War II, government plans were drawn up to create a new network of high-speed routes across the country.
[68] While it advocated the construction and reorganisation of towns to accommodate the motor car and lorry, it stressed that this would have to be balanced with restrictions, in accordance with local needs.
It highlighted the urgency of the problem of dealing with the expected massive growth in road traffic,[69] the damage it could cause to our towns and cities if unplanned,[70] the eventual need for demand management[71] but with implications of restricting the mass of the population from doing something they didn't see as wrong,[72] and of the inevitable need for a change in policy as the social costs increased.
Plans by the Greater London Council for a series of ringways were cancelled following extensive protests headed by Homes before Roads and a rise in costs.
[87] Also in this time frame, the M11 link road protest saw protracted disturbance during the upgrading of a section of the A12 through East London.
[89] By 1994, following the recession of the early 1990s, a significant number of remaining schemes were cancelled, although the government still intended to continue with others using private financing.
In 2007, a new Planning Bill was introduced to parliament which would speed up the process of approving new roads and other transport infrastructure but which has raised concerns that it may erode democracy[102] and be a "developer's charter".
