Britain s roads have been creaking for years. According to the World Economic Forum, its lanesare worse than the underfunded stretches of tarmac in America. Spain and Portugaltwocountries which suffered far more during the financial crisisscore higher. Funding is part ofthe problem: cash for maintaining major roads has halved since 2010. But motorways in Britainare particularly jammed. Although the number of people driving in cosmopolitan areas such asLondon is shrinking, the rise of online shopping and a growing population are pushing moredelivery vans and cars on to busy roads.
英国的公路问题已有多年。根据世界经济论坛数据,英国车道的状况甚至比美国因资金不足而满是碎石的停机坪还要差。连西班牙和葡萄牙这两个受金融危机影响更为严重的国家,道路评分都高于英国。资金问题只是其中一方面,自2010年以来,主干道路的维护费用便减少了一半。但是英国的高速公路实在是太挤了。尽管在诸如伦敦这样的国际大都市内驾驶的人数正在缩水,但是由于网络购物的增长以及人口的增加,仍然有更多的送货车以及汽车加入到拥挤的车流当中。
Rather than spend lots of cash laying more tarmac, however, the Highways Agency has soughtto invest in other ways to reduce congestion. In 2006 the Labour government ran a pilotprogramme, known as an active traffic management system, on part of the M42 inBirmingham. The scheme placed gantries with electronic signs every 500 metres along themotorway, installed CCTV cameras and allowed the hard shoulder to be used as an extra laneat busy times, boosting capacity by around a third. A variable speed limit was introduced,determined by sensors. Making cars travel at a slower, more uniform speed means more canbe squeezed on the roads.
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