Assembly committee urges minister to use existing powers to halt motorway chaos
The National Assembly for Wales’ Enterprise and Learning Committee has called on the transport minister to create dedicated traffic officers in Wales in a bid to avoid future motorway chaos.
Currently the police are in charge of traffic management on our major roads in Wales while in England they already have dedicated teams of traffic management officers.
The committee believe the Welsh Assembly Government should use existing powers to establish a similar service in Wales.
“Wales has two major arterial corridors as part of its road network,” said committee chairman, Gareth Jones AM.
“Both the M4 in the South, and the A55 in the North, are vulnerable to congestion as a result of major and minor incidents, and the volume of traffic.
“Such occurrences have worrying social and economic impacts, greater than those experienced in England, given the difficulties caused by the geography and topography of Wales and the less well developed network management here.”
That’s why the committee is urging the minister to use existing powers under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to create a dedicated Traffic Officer Service in Wales.
The report also recommends that:
the Welsh Assembly Government should review its current policy on 20mph zones by looking to the positive impact of zoning schemes in Northern Europe.
WAG works with other stakeholders to ensure that they develop a high-quality driver education programme for schools to reflect the contents of the Road Policing Manifesto.
The committee has published this report after being asked to consider the draft Road Policing Manifesto.
Members took evidence from a wide variety of interested parties including the Association of Chief Police Officers(ACPO), the Vehicle and Operators Services Agency(VOSA) and the Fire Service.
The manifesto will be a joint policy document, which will be formally adopted by the Welsh Assembly Government and the four Police Chief Constables in Wales.
It’s hoped this greater synergy will deliver better road management, particularly on the major strategic road network.