THE BRITISH ROAD SYSTEM
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Sta,—Many countries are replanning their road systems. In 1934 the American House of Representatives' Roads Com- mittee approved a measure allocating an additional k8o,000,000 from the National Recovery Fund for highway construction. Sweden is making a serious attempt to relieve traffic congestion in cities, and she has entered upon an ambitious scheme of fly-over crossings and clover-leaf layouts at dangerous junctions.
Germany proposes to construct 4,400 miles of new roads ; up to September, 1936, 65o miles had been completed. The Italian State Road Construction Board took over 137 trunk roads of a total length of 13,000 miles in 1928 ; by September, 1935, she had repaired and modernised over 6,000 miles.
In this country the Government has failed to realise that patchwork remedies are useless. Our roads are the most congested in the world—there were 12.3 cars and commercial vehicles per mile of road in 1936, or 82.2 per mile of Class / road. In America there are only 8.2 per mile, in France 4.9 and in Germany 4.4 per mile.
Early in 5935 the five year plan for road construction was announced with a contemplated expenditure of ktoo,000,000. It has been a failure, for after fully two years less than Lto,000,000 has been spent.
An entirely. new road system is essential for public safety, for industry and commerce and for national defence.—Yours,
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