Increased bridge fees lead to 'rat-running' in scenic areas

LARGE toll increases for travelling across the Severn Bridge have dramatically changed traffic patterns in the area, leading to havoc in small towns and villages whose roads are now used by traffic avoiding the tolls.

The government-sanctioned increases, designed to help pay for a second pounds 300m crossing due to open in 1996, have been imposed by the bridge's French owners, Cofiroute.

The bridge, which carries the M4 between England and Wales, was privatised two years ago. Crucially, the 'return ticket' charges, which have gone up from pounds 1 for cars two years ago to pounds 3.10 today with another rise coming on 1 January to pounds 3.40 (with heavy lorries rising from pounds 2 to pounds 9.30 to pounds 10.10 on 1 January), apply only to westbound traffic. Driving out of Wales is free.

Many haulage companies, working to tight margins, are now looking for free trunk routes avoiding the Severn tolls. The routes they have exploited involve little extra mileage; but many drivers are speeding through village streets to make up for lost time.

According to surveys carried out by Gloucestershire County Council, large-scale toll-dodging has occurred as drivers seek alternative roads into Wales. Council figures released this week show westbound lorry traffic along the A40 and A48 trunk roads soaring (see map).

Worst-hit in terms of impact has been the scenic Little London-Monmouth A4136, a country road winding through the Forest of Dean in a series of sharp bends and steep hills.

Mike Hellewell, the council's Forest of Dean traffic manager, said: 'On all three roads the quality of life has gone down. On the A4136 you're talking of something like 30 HGVs an hour. It's not just a question of speed and noise but a whole package of concerns for schools, village pedestrians and obstruction. If they're finding their way round one section of motorway anything could happen when tolls are introduced on the rest of the network. The mind boggles.'

Kenneth Robertson, a senior executive of the Countryside Commission's environment protection branch, says of toll dodgers' rural rat-running: 'The effects would be quite devastating on many small towns and villages, particularly those that are already congested with tourist traffic. Inevitably there'll be demands for bypasses which the commission may feel quite strongly about because a lot of these rural communities are in scenic areas.'

William Sheate, transport campaigner for the Council for the Protection of Rural England, fears that rural rat-running would lead to pressure to improve country highways. 'The Government's own figures suggest diversions off motorways of 10 per cent even at quite low tolls of 1.5p a mile,' he said. 'If you're pushing traffic on to the rest of the network then inevitably there'll be environmental damage. We've seen it already on strategic routes like the A303 in the South-west. What you're looking at effectively is M-way designation by default.'

Brian Bird, head teacher of Zion Primary School in Little London, said: 'Every day is a nightmare and it's getting worse.'

(Photograph and map omitted)