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Traffic aims will simply hit the brick wall of population growth
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From André Ferrari.
AT last we are offered a transport strategy which recognises that cramming more and more cars onto our roads is not an effective policy.
Even more amazing is the aim of reducing peak traffic levels by 15 per cent. But this worthy attempt at sustainability surely hits a brick wall when it collides with the States policy on population levels.
In the past 50 years Jersey’s population has risen by some 29,000. That rise of some 46 per cent has obviously been a major contributor to the traffic problem.
Unfortunately, the States’ strategy shows no collective will to restrict population growth. No matter how the policy is dressed up, no matter what excuses are given, it simply amounts to more of the same: the inexorable rise of Jersey’s population.
And that perhaps is where the latest traffic strategy will fail. Surely every one per cent reduction in traffic will be cancelled out by every one per cent rise in population? Even a miraculous, overnight 15 per cent traffic reduction would see the benefits shrink year on year as the population subsequently went up. How long before we are back at square one – or worse?
And that same problem will hit any government strategy to reduce waste, to reduce water use, energy use, etc.
These days our ministers are keen to use the ‘sustainability’ word, but the fine words do not marry with the reality of core policies which seek to increase the population and the economy in ways little different from the past 50 years.
The proposed transport strategy illustrates this schizoid divide beautifully. How sad that it takes such a long-awaited and sensible strategy to highlight the elephant in the room.
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