Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the proposal by Highways England to limit a section of the M1 to a speed of 60mph between 7am and 7pm, what evidence they have that the reduced speed limit would reduce air pollution.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Highways England will announce any measures to improve air quality on the M1 between Junctions 32-35a when the smart motorway scheme opens, which is expected to be in March 2017.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the proposal by Highways England to limit a section of the M1 to a speed of 60mph between 7am and 7pm and in the light of the study by NICE <i>Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health</i>, published in December 2016, what evidence they have that the reduced speed limit would contribute to smoother driving.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Evidence from smart motorways implemented across England demonstrates that the controlled environment of signs, signals and enforcement leads to improved lane discipline, less congestion, less incidents and smoother speeds, all of which contribute to smoother driving.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the aim of the Smart motorways programme to increase road capacity, how they intend to manage the additional emissions resulting from increased numbers of vehicles using the roads.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Smart Motorways are at the core of Highways England’s £15bn investment programme to transform England’s Strategic Road Network, helping to ease congestion and improve traffic flow. Keeping traffic moving reduces stop-start decelerations and accelerations, which in itself has emissions benefits.
Highways England undertake an environmental assessment of each Smart Motorway scheme and if any measures are found to be necessary to manage emissions, these would be developed as part of scheme preparation work.