Dear Mr Clegg,
I read with interest the comments you made regards the A14 toll proposal and how “you have to share the burden a little between taxpayers and people who actually use the road".
The problem is you can’t simply apply that argument when it suits and ignore it when it doesn’t. For example, the entire UK road network requires proper investment but where are the monies to come from to sort it out?
A decomposing road network cannot survive as it is, it requires investment in order to maintain life as we know it because everything we have or use comes by road. It is clear moving freight on to rail is not viable because it cannot even stand on its own two feet without government subsidy.
And it is clear Vehicle Excise Duty is not the answer as that pays for other things (probably subsidising rail) so the only alternative is to introduce a tax for using the motorway network and reroute the monies back into road building projects.
This should also pay to upgrade dual carriageways into motorways to expand the taxable mileage.
Historically individual tolls on roads and bridges drive much of the traffic onto the road network surrounding a pay-to-use road/bridge and that leads to displaced traffic congestion in areas where roads are not designed for increased levels of traffic – often villages, rural narrow roads, or built up areas.
That leads to damage to the road infrastructure and local authorities having to spend money it would not normally allocate to repair roads and introduce traffic easing measures in these aforementioned areas.
For example; many car drivers and owners of trucks still refuse to take the M6 Toll Road out of principle and will always take the M6 or surrounding routes along the A5 rather than pay. It may take longer to go around but the act of handing over money is avoided.
Hauliers play an important part within the UK economy, and the A14 is a significant link from the docks where thousands of containers arrive and depart every day. The A14 is an important part of what may prove to be a long journey to other parts of the UK. Hauliers would support a toll if the toll were introduced on a national scale not placed in perceived hot spots.
If you look to France and Germany, you will see what the tolling of the national network of motorways can achieve for motoring and to the national economy.
Kind regards
Laurie Dealer
