Feature

The road to healthier streets

There are enormous health benefits to be gained from rethinking our transport policies, argues John Stewart

Current transport policies are bad for people’s health. And it is not only the most obvious things, like pollution from motor vehicles, that are causing the problems. A lot of the danger comes from much less well-documented sources. A cleaner, greener approach to transport would not only improve the nation’s health, but would also make sound financial sense.

It is air pollution that tops people’s agenda. And there is a real problem. At least 75 per cent of the pollution in London’s air can be put down to emissions from motor vehicles. The July 1995 issue of Which? came to the conclusion that ‘there is good evidence that traffic pollutants can harm health, especially the health of people who already have heart or lung problems. In December 1991, during a period of extra still weather, an estimated 160 more Londoners than usual died from heart and respiratory problems. The cause was emissions from the two million vehicles clogging up the roads in the capital.’

Because pollution from traffic is causing such an outcry in the developed world, and particularly in the US, the motor industry, in its own self-interest, is having to adapt. So we have unleaded petrol and catalytic converters (which, because they take time to warm up, are pretty ineffective for short journeys in cold climates), and we will get developments in vehicles run on other fuels. I suspect the motor industry will conquer the emissions problem simply because it knows that, with millions more vehicles shortly to arrive from the rapidly expanding market in the Far East, if it cannot clean up its act then the future of the car will be limited.

In Britain protests against noise are much less high-profile than those against air pollution. I suspect that this may be because the majority of the people worst affected by excessive noise levels — those living adjacent to main roads — are on low incomes. According to figures from the Department of Environment, road transport is the main source of noise pollution, by a considerable margin. The Noise Incidence Study carried out in 1990 found that over half of dwellings in England and Wales experienced daytime noise levels in excess of WHO recommended maximum levels. Quieter vehicles and better quality road surfaces would reduce noise levels, but any benefits gained would almost certainly be wiped out if traffic levels in Britain reached the predicted levels: up 83 per cent and 142 per cent by 2025.

There are other less obvious ways in which traffic affects people’s health. There has been a 20 per cent fall in the amount of walking over the past two decades. Cycling, too, has reduced dramatically. There are a number of reasons for this: the decline in local facilities; the explosion in car ownership; the increased danger on the roads.

The government’s recent move to limit growth in out-of-town developments is welcome, but even as things stand now, many more journeys could be made on foot or by bicycle — half the trips we make are under two miles long; 75 per cent are less than 5 miles. But for this to happen, roads must become less dangerous, and that means putting the needs of pedestrians and cyclists at the heart of government transport policy.

It means taming traffic through the introduction of lower, properly enforced speed limits, tough penalties to deter dangerous driving, and a significant switch of road space away from motor vehicles. The experience of many towns and cities of Northern Europe shows that when the streets are given back to people, they use them to walk, cycle, play, and chat to neighbours. The lives of children and old people are no longer restricted by traffic, neighbourliness increases and the use of bicycles soars. Literally, the place becomes alive!

But measures to make streets people-friendly will only work if they are part of a wider plan to tame the traffic. This would include both carrots — like better public transport and lower fare levels — and sticks, such as tougher parking standards, higher fuel charges and, maybe, road pricing. The government’s recent transport green paper includes some of these measures and it certainly confirms the historic move away from a roads-based transport policy.

But to bring about improvements to people’s health across the board, particular efforts need to be made to improve the transport opportunities of both poor people and those with disabilities. Poor people are the big losers in a car-based society — they can’t afford a car themselves but suffer the worst effects of traffic. Rural poor people can be particularly isolated as in some areas public transport has all but disappeared. The evidence from disability organisations shows that many disabled people experience health problems from being cut off. Unless poor and disabled people can become stakeholders in the country’s transport system, they will continue to suffer the ill-effects of isolation and deprivation.

New transport policies would bring about a healthier nation — and they would also result in a wealthier one. One recent estimate put the annual cost to Britain of air pollution at £19.7bn; noise pollution at around £3bn; and road accidents at £7bn.¹ These are huge numbers. They should be big enough to convince the decision-makers that taming the traffic is the way to create a healthier and wealthier nation.

ALARM UK campaigns for a sustainable transport policy while RoadPeace, the national charity for road traffic victims, supports policies to reduce danger on the roads.