NEW Government research suggests closing roads does not always lead to a big increase in traffic congestion. An £80,000 study presented by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and London Transport looked at a range of road and bridge closures, both real and theoretical.

'Traffic Impact of Highway Capacity Reduction' aimed, in particular, to obtain a better assessment of the impact of bus priority measures where the number of passengers who gain may justify reallocating highway capacity to public transport. The report found that some drivers were dissuaded from travelling by car if they found road capacity was reduced or reallocated, although it did not examine the extent of delays caused by the majority of drivers who diverted to other routes.

Transport minister Gavin Strang welcomed the survey, describing it as a valuable contribution to the understanding of traffic management measures, and said its conclusions would be fed into the White Paper on integrated transport.