Steven, I dare say that if I lived in a provincial town I might want a bypass that would make life there more bearable, but what I would want and what I would get are not the same, for the reason I explained.To take just one example, people in Newbury thought a bypass would solve their traffic problems. Instead, a 2006 study by the Campaign to Protect Rural England said the bypass barely reduced traffic and caused more fatal accidents, and some local residents now say traffic is no better than it was 20 years ago.More generally, an analysis of government reports quoted by the Stop the Arundel Bypass campaign, (https://www.arundelbypass.co.uk/big-debate), in a comprehensive analysis of the problems with road schemes, found that:* Overall traffic levels rose significantly as a direct result of each new road* Economic forecasts did not reflect the actual impact on local businesses and any benefits were generally lower than predicted* CO2 emissions were higher than predicted, as were noise levels. Air quality was worse than forecast* Walking, cycling and public transport did not improve, even where traffic has decreased on local roads* Two-thirds of the bypasses studied simply moved congestion elsewhere.
Richard Carter ● 54d