Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure social distancing by reallocating road space to pedestrians and cyclists during the covid-19 outbreak.

I welcome appropriate changes to roads to give cyclists and pedestrians more space to enable social distancing. The details are for local authorities as they are responsible for managing their roads, but I am pleased to see that some local authorities have already begun to consider such changes.

There is a well-established range of traffic management measures already available to local authorities. Some measures, such as road closures to enable filtering for different traffic types, require Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to make them legal and enforceable, and we are aware that parts of that process are difficult for local authorities to comply with during the current situation. To assist with this, the Department has published temporary guidance, which suggests ways in which authorities can continue to make TROs, whilst still complying with the intention of the legislation.

This guidance has been circulated to local authorities already and will be kept under review. It will be withdrawn when circumstances allow. It is available on the Department’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-orders-advertising-during-coranavirus-covid-19