Less Congestion Equals Lower Traffic Speeds

At the July Question Time Angie Bray asked Livingstone to give a definition for the phrase continuing adjustments to capacity, which appears in his annual report on the congestion charge. His reply shows why fewer vehicles are not travelling any faster and why congestion is actually created as a matter of public policy - then of course blamed on the number cars and selfish drivers, the only road users who are not a 'priority':

Ken Livingstone: Ongoing changes to the traffic-moving characteristics of the road system include:

Widespread use of traffic control and road safety related measures on major and minor roads, having impacts on traffic levels and speeds;

Measures to assist pedestrians and cyclists at junctions;

Bus priority measures and increased bus activity and patronage;

Increased frequency of street works, particularly associated with increased activity by utilities and high technology communications.

Most of these interventions have been valuable and beneficial, either directly to selected users of the road network or more generally.