Sustainable Transport and Transport Planning - Assignment Example

These ever increasing numbers have raised a major concern in many local transport development offices and especially the one in Nottingham. The current innovation and construction of the Nottingham Express Transit Phase Two is something to marvel at but a question still remains, will it solve the current traffic issues? Trams have been offering reliable transportation for quite a while now and they will remain a tool of choice for the ordinary commuter. However, the dream to own a car always lingers in each commuter owing to the fact that everyone would like to be picked from their houses and taken to their destinations at their own will.

The construction of the transit lines is guaranteed to reduce traffic congestion within the main city center but it does not necessarily mean that people will stop buying cars. The fact that people will always buy cars means that the local civil engineers will have to accommodate this factor while designing and implementing the construction of the transit lines. This means that apart from creating enough room for the trams, the engineers will also have to create enough room for the personal cars as well as commercial vehicles. . Among the three, the problem of road maintenance takes the top spot due to the huge number of road accidents witnessed every year.

Sustainable development in this sector requires the promotion of cooperation between social progress, environmental protection and economic efficiency. Recent technologies have shown us that it is however, very possible to drive around on cleaner energy such as the one used in modern electric cars all in an effort to protect the environment. Most people will agree that over-reliance on automobile is related to unsustainable urban environments. The use of vehicles is indeed one of the largest sources of pollution globally and if not controlled stands to destroy the environment that we live in (CEE, 2011).

However, there exists quite a number of alternatives to automobile transport that are much safer and more reliable in terms of sustaining the environment. The use of water transport and trains is deemed to reduce the use of cars and guaranteed to provide a much faster way of moving from one point to another especially in inter-city transportation. This can also prove to be a great way to control the traffic situation in big cities apart from offering cheap and reliable transport for both small and large cargo.

In as much as the construction of additional tram transit lines will bring the sought after relief, there will still be need to outsource additional means of transport to curb the rising automobile use within Nottingham. The local authorities can implement the following alternatives among others: Use of Bicycles: this is among one of the best sustainable alternatives that can actually save the city a lot of money in terms of maintenance costs and fuel prices as well as promoting green energy (Bourne, 2003).

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