Hear the voices behind the Road Investment Scrutiny Panel report – each one worth a listen in their own right I would say, and in turn a report worth taking note of in which they speak as one.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the cast for the feature article in this week’s edition of Local Transport Today with thanks to Landor for allowing the article to be shared more widely:

🗨 Professor Steve Gooding – “a sensible moment to draw breath and reflect on whether we are headed in the right direction”

🗨 Professor Jillian Anable – “we need to adopt a precautionary approach to assessing how much traffic of each vehicle type can be accommodated on the road network whilst carbon budgets are being met”

🗨 Professor Zoe Davies – “The need to protect and restore our ecosystems, and the species that inhabit them, has never been so critical”

🗨 Professor Karen Lucas – “The full extent of the cumulative social consequences of the construction and operation of these projects is not properly evidenced”

🗨 Professor Stephen Glaister – “Proper, dispassionate and rounded scheme appraisal, including costing in carbon at the nationally agreed rate, is always necessary”

🗨 Professor Nicola Christie – “Investment in roads should focus on holistic strategies that create environments that are safe for all and thereby help support sustainable mobility”

🗨 Andrew Crudgington – “I came away from the Panel sessions convinced that it is going to be people from non-traditional backgrounds – be that from other transport sectors or sectors further afield, such as gaming – who we’ll need to access if we are to find and develop these kind of solutions to our transport problems.”

🗨 Professor Phil Goodwin – “the process itself does not give voice to the seriousness of genuine scientific and public concern about the environmental and economic impacts of the growth in traffic and the schemes to provide for it”

🗨 Professor Glenn Lyons – “The long history of road investment and underlying appraisal may have created norms, biases and blind spots that are now clouding judgements”

Details for accessing the Road Investment Scrutiny Panel report are included in the article below.

Stewardship of our collective future is at stake – now is the time for cool heads, open minds and sound judgement.

#roadinfrastructure#roadsafety#roadconstruction#roadinvestment#appraisal#biodiversity#decarbonisation#socialjustice#strategy#roadmaintenance#uncertainty