Councils 'to get more control on road classification'

Date: 1/2/2011

Councils in the UK are to be allowed to make decisions regarding the classification of roads in their area, helping to determine how they appear in maps and on satellite navigation systems.

According to the Department for Transport, it is currently required to approve the choice should a local authority wish to change the classification of any of its roads.

However, the decision has been made to amend this as a result of the belief that it is the council that is best placed to decide which category its roads should fall under.

It is hoped that this move will also help to ease congestion by making drivers more aware of the local routes that are most suitable for through-journeys.

Setting out the new proposals, Local and Regional Transport Minister Norman Baker said: "I believe in giving power to local people. This reform will cut red tape and mean councils can better control traffic in their area."

Elsewhere, Transport for London recently announced an average speed camera system featured on the busy stretch of the A13 between Canning Town and the Goresbrook Interchange is the first of its kind in the UK.

Posted by Mary Treen