Welsh Journals

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points. While it is true that many improvement schemes would meet both of these objectives, they do suggest differences of emphasis. Dealing with perceived obstacles to rapid traffic movement might be described as a 'local problem-solving' approach. The emphasis on improving communications to new growth points is rather different in that it accepts the principle of improving roads to 'a higher standard than would be justified by normal traffic increases' (Welsh Office, 1967, para 50). The aim here is not simply to cope with existing or even anticipated problems but clearly to anticipate a change in traffic patterns and indeed encourage it. This is a more 'developmental' approach; an example given in 1967 was the construction of a new road from the termination of the M4 at Newport to the Bridgend area, a proposal subsequently overtaken by the decision to extend the M4 to West of Swansea. It was argued in 'Wales: The Way Ahead' that in the past Wales had suffered because of poor accessibility and, to a lesser extent, from the lack of adequate internal markets. Under- lying this view was an assumption that suppliers and markets for new industry or for the growth of existing industry in Wales would largely be located in England. The emphasis on access and cross- border economic activity has continued to dominate governmental rationale for the choice of priorities in the road programme for Wales (Welsh Office, 1978, para. 5). The rationale for major improvements other than to the main East-West routes has tended to be the need to improve access to the latter from areas not immediately served by them, or to meet local needs. There has been little sign of any intent- ion to use the roads programme as a means of increasing the degree of self-sufficiency in the economy (or economies) of Wales. Implementation: The Impact on the Road Network One crucially important factor constraining the use of resources for improving trunk roads in Wales (as in Scotland) is the much larger road mileage per head of population. Table 1 shows identifiable public expenditure per head of population on roads and transport for the four countries of the United Kingdom in a number of recent years. On the basis of these figures Wales appears to have done fairly well, and the green and white papers of 1976/77 indicated that reductions in road expenditure imposed on England might not apply to Wales and Scotland (D.O.E., 1976, Dept. of Transport, 1977). The extent to which the level of expenditure in Wales is being maintained is also illustrated by Table 2. These figures, however, do not tell the whole story. An analysis of expenditure per mile of trunk road would give a much less favourable picture for Wales than Table 1. Table 3 indicates the extent to which road mileage in Wales is greater, in relation to population, than in England. Thus, overall, each pound per head of population will be much more thinly spread in Wales than