Transport initiative - Grinding to a halt amid prosperity

ONE of the great expenses, both environmental and financial, of our time is private transport. Soaring parking costs in our cities and towns are adding to an already heavy burden.

Relatively easy access to private transport also means that many people are forced to commute ever-greater distances, so much so that one sceptical observer has described the traffic jams blocking some of our roads at peak hours as moving prisons.

Land that once interested no-one other than farmers is now assessed for its development potential no matter how far it is from any centre of population. This has led to all sorts of difficulties and strains in family life.