Scottish freight operators’ calls for no car lanes, the reviewing of night-time lorry bans, and raising the speed limits for lorries, have been backed by MSPs.
Following a petition by the road haulage industry, the Scottish Parliament’s local government and transport committee examined the future prospects of freight transport. It supported the executive’s decision to retain the freight facilities grant scheme to encourage a shift to rail, despite ministers scrapping it in England, although urged a consideration of its impacts.
But the MSPs concluded that road haulage would remain the dominant mode of freight transport and, as such, called for traffic management measures to make deliveries more efficient. This included encouraging authorities to review and, ‘where appropriate’, relax night-time lorry bans and commission a cost-benefit analysis of increasing speed limits on strategic single carriageway roads.
They also urged a timetable from the executive on building a second crossing of the Forth, as lorries face losing access to the existing crossing by 2013 (Surveyor, 6 July). The Freight Transport Association warmly welcomed the recommendations for the executive. FTA head of policy for Scotland, Gavin Scott, said: ‘The inquiry has highlighted a number of important matters relating to the economic and efficient operation of freight transport in Scotland.
‘Over the course of the coming months and years, we look forward to improvements in those operations, to the benefit of both freight operators, and Scottish industry.’