This paper examines the broad impact of prospective Toll Routes on the highway systems in Staffordshire and highlights the policy issues which are involved at a local and regional level. Arguably, the most radical national transport policy development has been the announcement of a new breed of Toll Roads - in the Green Paper "New Roads by New Means" (see IRRD 828324). The test bed for the national experiment will be centred on the County of Staffordshire, which could have two of the primary schemes: the Birmingham Orbital Route (for which competition is currently in progress) to be followed by a competition for a scheme in the corridor between Birmingham - Manchester parallel to the M6 Motorway. Staffordshire has a rapidly growing urban population and a burgeoning local economy both in the M6 corridor and in east Staffordshire. Traffic growth in the County over the past decade has exceeded national levels particularly on motorways and, paradoxically, funds for local roads have reduced. The new Toll Routes will provide the opportunity of solving local and regional traffic problems and playing a part in promoting economic growth. However these opportunities may be counterbalanced by problems associated with pressure for more dispersed development and the concomitant problems of generated traffic on the local highway system.
Abstract