JNugent wrote:
"Colum Mylod" wrote in message
The smart way to reduce congestion (not that this expansion has it, 5%
of the area at most has congestion) is to close off zones and reduce
flow. Classic example Hammersmith bridge. Close it and traffic
"evaporates".

Er... not quite.

I remember a miserable afternoon spent trying to get from Barnes to Hanwell.
It should have been a doddle using Hammersmith Bridge, but it was then
closed for repairs (is it still closed, or closed again?). ... The traffic
certainly does not "evaporate", even if the residents of the
approach roads
(some of whom seem very self-centred over this issue) think it
does. It
simply goes elsewhere (because it has to).

No. Of course some goes elsewhere, but some evaporates too. People
choose not to travel or not to drive. The stats show it. The effect
increases over time as people move house or change jobs.

Similarly most of the traffic that now occupies the M25 didn't exist
before the motorway was built.


Colin McKenzie