Hard shoulder - cold shoulder or warm welcome?

November 2nd, 2007

The government has recently announced that they are going to roll out the use of the hard-shoulder on motorways at peak driving times. After a year of testing on the M42 the scheme is going to be soon extended to other motorways including the M1, M4, M6, M25 and M40.

The announcement raises a few questions

including whether the use of these previously empty lanes will hinder the work of the emergency services (although The Highways Agency insists it won’t) and, as claimed by Friends of the Earth, whether this “motorway widening by stealth” will simply attract more cars and cause even more carbon dioxide emissions.

Can the two battles - one against gridlock, the other against environmental damage - both be won? And will lives be lost if, say, ambulances or helicopters aren’t able to reach an accident scene because of a blocked hard shoulder.

Whatever the government’s priorities one thing is for sure: allowing us to use the hard shoulder is a less expensive option than stumping up the money to add an extra new lane….

Entry Filed under: green issues, traffic, cars, travel