The high number of people entering London daily between 7am and 10am is estimated at 989 thousand, 251 thousand of these use the road network. This situation resulted in unacceptable congestion levels and environmental damage through exhaust pollution which resulted in the government introducing legislation to protect the economic week and improve conditions generally. Parking enforcement was decriminalised. At the same time, new radial routes were introduced into London, known as `Red Routes'. The key objectives of Red Routes are: to provide special help for the efficient movement of buses; to reduce the congestion impact; to improve the local environment; to provide better conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and people with a disability; not to encourage further car commuting into central London or more traffic to cross the central area; and to improve the movement of all classes of traffic on the Red Route Network so that people and goods can reach their destinations in London more easily, reliably and safely. The 12.55 km pilot Red Route commenced in January 1991. Decriminalised parking and the pilot Red Route are shown to be successful. The introduction of Red Routes and decriminalised parking necessitated a review of the Metropolitan Police Service traffic strategy.
Abstract