THE ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH DRIVERS
IN SCOTLAND
Campaign against City Congestion
Traffic congestion in our Cities has been encouraged by misguided actions on the part of City Planners and Roads Departments. As part of it's campaign against these misguided actions, ABD Scotland has had the following letter (or a similar letter) published in at least two major Scottish Dailies, The "Herald" and the Aberdeen Post & Journal.
"Sir,
Although it has not yet appeared in the media in Scotland, only in Southern England, we think your readers should know that certain Local Authorities have been intentionally causing congestion in their own cities. They claim that what they are doing is "...to eradicate congestion." Well, if so, it's not working!
For some time, instead of ensuring that main roads into their cities are kept clear to keep traffic moving, everything they have done has had the opposite effect. The main roads have been obstructed by direct accesses contrary to the guidelines, ever-multiplying traffic and pedestrian lights, bus lanes, cycle tracks and other reductions in street widths. Naturally, this causes drivers to seek alternative routes (the so-called 'rat runs'), so these alternative routes have been progressively blocked by "traffic calming", or simply closing roads.
In many cities, especially London and Edinburgh, this process has now reached the point where the authorities can claim "congestion", and many people have been conned into believing it. So now the unfortunate commuters are threatened with "congestion charging" - that is, a charge for using the roads for which they have already paid, intended to stop them from using them! But they don't stop there. In London, where a charge of £5 a day is to be levied for access, it is reported that there are "secret" plans to keep cars out by rigging traffic lights. Thus motorists attempting to turn into London from the M25 Ring Road "will face a sea of red lights."
No doubt you will receive letters trying to discredit this report. So we should point out that not only did these facts appear in the media, in addition we have members who drive professionally in the centre of these cities - couriers, taxi drivers and van drivers as well as motorists. We can prove what we say. There is more - much more - but perhaps this is enough to blow wide open the conspiracy to defraud us all and deal a death blow to some more shops and businesses in the City centres.
Very sincerely,
Scottish Area Representatives,
Association of British Drivers,Alan Werninck (Lothian) (NB Now deceased)
John Baird (Central Admin.)
Peter Spinney (West of Scotland)(Any of whom can be reached through the Website, www.abd.org.uk)
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