The Future - Trust Annual Report 1965
There is no doubt that cuts in Government expenditure on roads will put off the city plan for some time to come. At the same time, a broad pattern of thinking about traffic problems is becoming discernible. This is seldom aired as official policy, it would be too unpopular, but must obviously become more and more widespread. It is simply a matter of charging more for the luxury of motoring in congested areas. Parking meters, increasing charges for car parks, traffic wardens, "No Waiting" signs, and loading restrictions are all evidence of this. Methods of metering distances in towns are also under consideration, together with excess licence fees for entry into certain areas.
The plain fact is that most cities planned on walking distances cannot be adapted fast enough to meet the ever-rising tide of motor cars, consequently the motor car will have to be restricted by increasing the cost. This is the implication of the Buchanan report, to preserve the environment for the majority at the expense of the personal convenience of the individual.
On the other hand, it is vital that improved roads should be provided between centres, and that all available resources for expenditure on traffic should be devoted to this purpose. The South of England has some of the most inadequate road services in the country. It is scandalous that all traffic from the Midlands to Southampton should have to pass through Winchester, and that apart from the incomplete by-pass the only solution offered is to drive wider roads through the centre. This will only invite more of the through traffic to come into the city. The by-pass, already inadequate, will be made even more intolerable by heavy goods traffic when the Kings-worthy link is provided, and the private motorist will therefore prefer to travel through the city unless a western by-pass is also provided. The proposed enlargement of the port of Southampton, can only intensify the problem.
In the meantime planning blight has been placed on a large number of properties.
Two things should now be done. The inevitable delay gives time to correct the City Plan and moreover time to get a consultant to achieve a better plan. One of the chief deficiences of the present scheme is that it does not point out areas of growth of the central area, which would need servicing, and of the suburbs which would generate traffic. The Trust considers that the traffic plan must always be subservient to a general plan which controls growth and amenity. At present the plan is a piece out of a textbook: Winchester requires a very particular solution.