Mayor of Greater Manchester, , has called on Government to
give Greater Manchester the powers and resources it needs to
tackle the congestion that’s causing chaos on our roads.
Congestion is a major issue for the city-region, costing an
estimated £1.3bn annually and exacerbating air pollution, which
contributes to 1,200 deaths a year.
Greater Manchester’s transport authorities have already taken
extra steps to try and alleviate the issues faced by drivers.
These measures include investing in our highways and public
transport infrastructure, providing extra buses from Park &
Ride sites, investing in 27 new trams and ground-breaking cycling
and walking projects across the city-region and installing a 24/7
control room to monitor and intervene on the road network.
However, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Leaders do not
currently have the powers or access to the required funding to
tackle the underlying issues that are causing congestion and
delays across the city-region.
The Mayor has today (4 October) called on Ministers to make key
changes and give the city-region’s leaders the powers needed to
combat congestion effectively. These powers include:
- Devolved powers over Highways England to help Greater
Manchester coordinate roadworks more effectively and provide more
effective customer information
- Devolved power to Transport for the North over rail
franchises to ensure that future investment is focused on
customer need and demand - making certain that the summer of rail
chaos is never repeated
- Bring forward the Transport Order as quickly as possible to
ensure Greater Manchester is able to reform and improve its
deregulated bus network
- Grant powers to enable better local management of roads,
including a lane rental scheme to charge utility companies for
roadworks; enforcement powers to reduce moving traffic offences
(such as drivers blocking yellow box junctions); powers to make
it easier to control obstructive pavement parking and a central
point of management of the key route network for the city region
- New national legislation to protect local standards for
taxis, ensuring consistent customer standards and safety
The Mayor’s call comes weeks after the National Infrastructure
Commission called for powers and increased funding to
be devolved to
Mayors in order to “give the people who know their
cities best the tools they need to improve urban
transport”.
Cities such as London, New York, Madrid and Berlin already have
these types of powers and resources. If Greater Manchester were
given these powers, it would free up valuable police resource and
also enable the city-region to tackle congestion.
, Mayor of Greater Manchester
said: “Congestion has reached a tipping point – it’s causing
major problems across Greater Manchester, making people late for
jobs, school and even footballers late for their matches.
“It’s also affecting the quality of the air we breathe, which is
a major public health issue, contributing to 1,200 deaths a year.
“We’ve been tasked by the Government to deliver a Clean Air Plan
which tackles congestion and reduces air pollution, but we cannot
deliver this plan without further powers and funding over a range
of areas including roadworks, highways and rail.
“Major cities including London, Berlin, Madrid and New York
all have these powers, but Manchester lags behind, so I’m calling
on Government to give us these powers now and fulfil its promises
to the North.”
