Cars are vital to our way of life

My core arguments are two-fold: nine months; 0 to 90 years plus starts for me with the economically active cycle of 18 to 65 years. Simplistic, because to argue for variations within age categories simply muddies the waters, creating mist, fog or just plain mud on the windscreen. The second is: we live in buildings, we trade in others, selling our services or purchasing our needs. All this demands instant traffic flow at exactly the time of our need: whether commitment or contracts.

Analogy: Life is in the blood. Blood circulation in our bodies enters our warehouse ('department': stomach) and is circulated on time to various 'departments'. Then it collects waste for central disposal. Thrombosis stops circulation selectively and brings loss and decay (GDP loss) in its wake.

I say that we must have regular fluid traffic movements between all 'departments' for life here to flourish.

Read on and tell your deputies this immediately: their vote soon could set bad policies in stone for another decade.

MICHAEL J. PARKER.

Department No:1 Personal Cars and Buildings

STATES Draft Island Development Plan; defines parking allocations, both domestic and commercial.

This is about to be voted upon. Valid for ten years. What does it say about new development in major areas? Restrict each new home (households) to a maximum of one car per residence which could actually mean 'None'; either way, a lost opportunity, and so much more is also affected.

The STATES Traffic Strategy affects Building(s): each with so many 'me' reasons to exist. They house 'People'. 'People' are us and we constantly need to interact with each other.

Yet for decades The States have declared: do without a car, bus it, cycle, walk. The Draft Island Development Plan is about to be voted on, such strategic policies will become set in stone for ten years.

I'm me, I'm minus 9 months, to 0 to 90 plus years: I'm 'People'; you are 'People': To survive I (we) need a car; constantly available, readily to hand.

For my whole life, I need buildings for spending. To live in, to be educated at, healed at. To provide heating, lighting and water, waste collection; fuel, food, clothing, furnishings, all aspects of plumbing, electrics, home maintenance. For us to meet in groups for all sorts of purposes, like sport, entertainment, travel; care groups, worship. Oh! So many buildings, so many purposes. Just for me: wait a minute, 'I'm People': ..... aren't you? We spend OUR time and money in buildings. Beware of the DIDP Traffic Strategy. Island Development plans, past (and now present) drove up individual car use, therefore has also driven up congestion and pollution.

Department No: 2 I'm People: Cars connect people and buildings

The STATES Strategy: (DIDP coming soon).

More on Buildings for: Health care, Services, Trading, Power and all the rest too.

I'm me; I'm 'People': For all sorts of reasons I need a car; On Hand 24/7. I need timely reaching of 'Buildings' for highly important reasons.

For that we need connectivity. Cars.

That's where we people come in and why we have all these (often Government) buildings, to spend in; to work in.

To have time and money to spend, we have to go to work to SELL OUR SKILLS to EARN. I'm 'People'; I can and must earn to live.

We 'People' have all sorts of giftings, personalities and skill sets at various ages and marital status. We sell our skills to People, (who own the Businesses that are in the Buildings) to give them something to sell to People with a need. Circular words? Yes, of course, because we all need timely, random connectivity to survive (especially at work where flexibility is often paramount), let alone just to live. Especially in times of trauma. We need cars; Buildings are what we use, cars are how we get there (in time).

Conflict: Government says: 'Spend & Lend': yet Government says 'Don't use cars', and reduce, restrict or refuse parking to enforce this. Business strangled. Income reduced, 'State' income lost.

Traffic Strategy contradicted by overall Island Development plans; driving up Congestion and Pollution

Department No: 3 Health and economy Parking

States Draft Island Development Plan: In major areas, restrict car parking provision at new household units to a maximum (which could mean none) of one car space; and (too) low a maximum for commercial properties.

Affects everything, but this letter is about health in particular.

The DIDP is shortly to be voted upon. Valid for 10 years. Parking Strategy recommendations aim to reduce the use of motor cars. Serious losses to the whole population, as these letters seek to explain.

Remember; the word Services covers physical essentials: heating, lighting and water, waste collection; fuel, food, clothing, furnishings, all aspects of plumbing, electrics, home maintenance as well as welfare.

Lack of availability of a car seriously affects all aspects of daily Living when that daily life runs into trauma.

Importantly, 'Services' covers health with all its social interaction, both pre and post care. Little is more traumatic than bad health, because, without warning, dealing with sudden debilitation entraps us and fractures our working and resting commitments. Without cars; sunk.

Very urgent connectivity to every kind of medical care needed in the now.

'Good will' visits anywhere island wide, totally reliant upon 24/7 random car movement by those involved. 'Good neighbourliness' at personal cost.

I am in desperate need of anything from 'child sitting' to medically based movements of the sick. Whether short term or weeks of temporary disability from viruses to broken limbs or surgery. Worse still; long term immobility.

If you can't get there, you can't help. It is impossible by bus, unlikely by cycle and usually well out of out of range for walking. Add in inclement weather or personal disabilities and commitments of our own and the mix cannot be achieved without car. Now add in 'daily provisions'.

The States Strategy. Thinking only about budgets; drive down HSSD costs. Over years, HSSD have shut down many of their provisions while IDPs leave almost nowhere for care services to exist. The Greenfield saga epitomises this. Leaving and forcing individual families to provide care beyond our ability at the same time forcibly escalating our car use. Contrary to Traffic Strategy.

The States, Traffic (car use) Strategy? Over decade's time proven result? It doesn't work. It breaks far more than it helps.

HSSD: Save money: shut down as much healthcare provision as possible. Force car use and despair.

Department No: 4 Education and my car

The States are responsible for 'my' education.

Minus nine months; 0 to 90 years plus. I'm me; I'm people. All my life I need a car.

Traffic movement is central to all aspects of society: important; only one vehicle can be on the road per one driving licence, therefore car ownership is not the problem here.

Education is to be provided at just a few 'centralised' locations. This may become even more relevant if the up-coming schools provision follows the proposed, but 'in limbo', Education Committee intentions/desires. Historical closure of many local schools has already resulted in increased car use and congestion.

What are the implications for society? This letter is about education matters.

The DIDP proposals create parking space restrictions on all major centre new properties; never-the-less this has ramifications island wide. It will become an entrenched fact for 10 years.

Traffic policies in particular, will have a large impact upon the whole of societies' need for education. There are so many facets to families moving children around just to reach school, let alone after school activities, some at school with many scattered all over the island; and that's difficult enough with one child per family. The consequences increase like compound interest does, once more than one child per family is in the mix. Add multiple age ranges and you have multiple destinations at different times of day: some parents spend five hours a day driving. A great deal of juggling for parents, with island wide locations and wildly variable timings. Occasionally temporary car sharing by parents, or available extended family and neighbours help, but solutions create more car use, not less.

Recent years of the States Education Policy: cut cost by closing 'local' schools. Most recent best example, St Andrew's closed (after firm promises not to: were costs actually saved?), but with new distances alone, forcing up individual car use.

Policy overall drives up the need for more buses and more individual car movements: for staff and pupils. Contrary to:-

The States Traffic Strategy Policy in this matter of getting people out of their cars and on to buses or cycling and/or walking, for educational matters, can deliver neither speedy nor relevant mobility for all the space/time based needs.

Time based congestion and pollution well and truly up. Nuclear families become ever more nuclear.

Society then suffers impoverished inter-activity, while the GDP becomes downwardly mobile.

Department No: 5 Traffic strategy; today and yesterday Pollution and Congestion

The States run fear campaigns

Traffic Strategy: central to every activity we could wish to undertake & expediency paramount.

The States, Traffic Strategy? For decades The States have declared: do without cars, bus it, cycle, walk. It doesn't work. The earliest years' chief planner forecast this would happen and tried to add parking solutions by increasing public parking spaces and on new development, island wide: Stymied by the States.

By pursuing the unworkable (proved faulty over decades of trying) the Draft Island Development Plan is set to perpetuate failure. Instead be radical: work with the motor car.

Instead; the States.

What has the States done recently? Reduce the area of land for parking and then claimed that parking spaces are not materially reduced. How can this be? A great many car spaces have been re-painted much narrower (and/or shorter) than is practical. Even modest cars now have difficulty in parking because the driver cannot get out of, or into, the car. I know.

Result: drivers pass up the first call to these spaces, then drive around the Town area, trying to find a space that works for them, or eventually, short of time, give up and go away. Costs trade.

This happens: Traffic congestion and pollution is 'multiplied by the journeys around the roads'. All day long, these changes to parking (above) make pollution and congestion very much worse.

Meanwhile the States run fear campaigns about these two effects.

I say elsewhere; the problem is not ownership of too many cars; after all, only one vehicle of any sort can be on the road per driver at any one time. That 'one driver" might well transfer to several other vehicles whilst carrying out his work, but that does not increase the number of vehicles on the road. Working vehicles (are often cars) and frequently drive around or through Town, with a need to park for work purposes and also at domestic properties.

Necessarily, cars need to 'live' at accessible locations both ends of the day. Cars are mostly at the domestic home 24/7 while often having to accommodate 'work cars' at the same time.

Previous IDPs, extended by proposals in the new Draft Island Development Plan, make everything worse. The new proposals will most likely increase island wide on-street parking. That's strategy.

Department No: 6 Vehicle numbers and driving licences. One driver one vehicle. Cars registered irrelevant

The States; Traffic Strategy? For decades the States have declared: do without cars, bus it, cycle, walk. Cyclists generate traffic queues equals increased pollution, increased congestion, loss of time and GDP.

The States for years have run (and continue to run), a fear campaign about pollution and congestion.

On the question of congestion I believe the States statistics themselves claim that this is bad because they say 86,000 vehicles are registered on this island. I beg to differ. 'New' registration plates have been used to raise the apparent figure to 86,000 but there are huge gaps from six to 86,000 caused by cars (and other vehicles) dropping off the scene by export or destruction. An example: in previous years I have seen hire cars with registrations in the 80,000 bracket, yet in one afternoon this year I've seen hire cars in the 60k, 50k, 40k, 30k and the 20,000s. Now consider that 86,000 vehicles actually covers all sizes of vans, taxis, hire cars, essential work-supplied cars (or supplied by the worker himself), Lorries, from small to very large and buses (some in 70,000s). On top of that, many actual new cars this year alone are on the road using re-cycled lower numbers. Then again; total vehicles in use per day are well below 86,000.

So firstly, the 86,000 registered vehicles figure is scare-mongering.

Then much, more importantly, the number of cars licenced is irrelevant:

Only one vehicle per driving licence, no matter what, can be on the road at any one time. Yet the States use this 86,000 figure to justify reducing parking and promoting their: (the States), Traffic Strategy/Policy: reduce pollution and congestion because too many cars on the road; get them off: Make it extra hard to use a car: reduce parking provision; increase taxes: do without cars. Bus it, cycle, walk. This does extensive damage to the economy in many not-so-obvious ways.

Whatever; The States for years, have not only stymied plans for extra parking areas but actively reduced the area of land used for car parking and reduced long term parking.

On top of this, parking spaces are now made too small for even modest sized cars to use (I can vouch for that); let alone medium or larger ones. So, all day long, cars drive around many more times trying to squeeze into a slot somewhere. Desperate. This causes all engines to burn fuel, (not just small cars of around 4.5 litres an hour, one gallon], by running for a States induced unnecessarily long time. Unnecessary congestion, unnecessary pollution.

Cars, small cars, burn fuel, emit pollution and clog up roads by the hour: repeated circulation rapidly increases pollution and multiplies congestion.

Traffic counts per hour: vehicle counts do not 'prove' that too many people are using cars, because such counters cannot know that they are including the same cars going round and round that hour. Journeys wasting fuel, personal support time, trading and income. Mine. Ours. Employers. Everyone's. Perversely; just what 'the States' don't want.

Contrary to the States Traffic Strategy while simultaneously sinking Income and Expenditure Policies. Here's an idea;

Be radical: ditch the 'war' on cars and work with them to everyone's benefit. Now.

Lobby to reverse the policy on traffic as proposed in the Draft Island Development Plan because after decades of trying, the States policy has not worked. Lobby now because if we don't work with the motor instead of against cars as proposed then it will be set in stone for 10 years. In that time all new (or re-developed) properties will be short changed. At permanent economic and social cost.

The vote on the DIDP will happen very soon; act now: or forever hold your peace.

More to come on all this because all our lives are so impacted by (this) the unintended.

Department No: 7 Planning arguments for more parking everywhere be radical. 'work with the motor car'.

A valid Planning argument (across every aspect of society) to 'work with the motor car'.

Practical life, means everything we touch needs the rapid mobility provided individually by cars.

This letter is to try to bring together a valid Planning argument (across every aspect of society) to 'work with the motor car'.

Please, reverse the DIDP Traffic Strategy proposals on the use of cars.

Historically based aim of States Traffic Strategies and the future DIDP proposals; get people out of their cars; go to work without cars, bus it, cycle, walk. But doing that, even with full health, I cannot carry much; certainly nowhere near enough for food let alone for education, health treatment, work or trading. If I don't go by car, some other substitute vehicle takes my place to bring 'goods' to me. How does that help congestion? As for the time and inconvenience it takes (because I am not at home)? Well.

Very soon this Strategy will be voted on during the acceptance debate on the contents of the proposed DIDP.

Main Point: traffic in the form of the motor car is totally central to our lives: everything we touch involves rapid access to a motor car.

Fast, easy public parking increases earning power per day; so States budgets (GDP) can expand

There can only ever be one driven vehicle per licenced driver, therefore the number of registered vehicles is irrelevant but they need an address to 'live' at. Parking at home and work.

Everything we touch is so all encompassing of practical life that many 'experts', each with different life experiences, look at traffic movements and policy mostly from only 'their discipline' point of view. 'Getting people out of their cars' is the classic area to see this conflict; unrecognised, wide ranging, debilitating personal consequences and unrecognised costs to the island.

This loss takes the form of lack of parking provision, particularly at home, as well as at work, trading, health and education centres. It includes the social costs incurred because of increased permanent on-street parking, pollution and congestion. The latter exaggerated by circulating many times around, say Town, but at other locations as well. Official parking Areas of land have been deliberately reduced while the 'apparent' no loss of places claim has been 'not achieved', because of perversely painting official parking spaces too small to be practical.

Unsurprisingly, these different points of view can conflict badly with each other to the extent that the resulting recommendations (like: get them out of their cars) brings about serious loss of quality of life; collectively as a society of fellow neighbours plus uniquely personal material losses. If we lack mobility on demand, as an example under health problems (in part, brief, weeks, or years of reduced physical mobility), that can in turn impinge on 'children for education matters'. Car transport is crucial for all forms of regular earning power, sustenance sourcing and life supporting measures and especially for the elderly without transport and/or lacking personal mobility. All this needs willing multiples of other people having ready and prompt access to motor cars to instantly help us, now; not 'tomorrow'. Otherwise crises flourish for us and our dependants.

Department No: 8: The world of the Island Detailed Plan explained

The world of the Island Detailed Plan explained. Background; my focus is on individual car ownership and use in the DIDP Proposals by which the States are about to do much harm.

Headline statements about such a plans.

The first Detailed Development Plan was published in 1971.

Function: protect the use of parcels of property and land to ensure the continuation of a balanced and stable economy. Written into the States Planning Law with mapped details.

The Planning Department prepares these documents to correlate of all aspects necessary for quality of personal life and that of society.

The Civil Service prepares the document on instruction from the whole States assembly. That same assembly considers the facts presented and votes to make these provisions into a law to be obeyed. The Planning Department becomes custodians of that law and are bound to approve (or disapprove) development applications only on the strict terms of that law, e.g. the recent Green Acres site. Whether for structures, use, amenity or economic reasons, particular site conditions can allow; 'helpful Planner' negotiation to completion.

The upside? Prevention of 'inappropriate (external on, not inside, buildings) work' by reason of social, visual or commercial blight for the owner, the immediate neighbours, district and island wide character, road use and so on.

Home owners or commercial developers must comply because the law presumption is: approve if at all possible to maintain and boost 'values', but prevent depreciation.

There are downsides. Developers cannot be forced to apply for development. Once started the developer cannot be compelled to finish. Approval can be conditional, including planned multiple Uses. However, fulfilment of all conditions of approval inside premises, cannot be forced into existence; but the Law can stop any other use occurring.

Example: 1971 multi-level offices approved in St Julian's Ave and Le Truchot and includes a States building. The planned intention: re-vitalise Town with residential occupancy by conditional use of floor areas. 60% Commercial, 40% residential. Never happened: Banks built, but claimed residential use incompatible with security. Many years of IDC inspections prevented commercial use but could not enforce residential use. Floor space empty. Re-vitalisation stopped by owners.

The States own the law: Planners enforce it, but the States themselves, are not bound by this law. 'Planners' and you and I, are. The States collective wisdom can over-ride the law by agreeing to a different priority. No matter what change to the designated lawful use, design, dimensions or other constraints is involved planners cannot adjudicate.

Example: The States own and govern bus services by means of a tendered contract. The States owned bus station. Tenders went out for a new tenant contractor (fell out with the incumbent), but said you cannot have the bus station even though it was essential to the States Traffic Strategy (get out of cars on to buses), which demands a practical and very frequent bus service. With nowhere else designated on their own DDP, the States demolished a prime transport resource and built high density housing in its place.

Don't get me started on developers and builders who buy up sites and sit on them for decades. The best planning intentions stymied.

States: I plead with you: please work with the motor car not against it as you propose: the whole fabric of island quality of life is at stake.

Michael J. Parker

Pages 10 & 11 are relevant to the Development and Planning Committee.

Target: amend Traffic Strategy proposed from:

Do without a car, bus it, cycle, walk to: 'work with the motor car'

Planning Summary: Departments 9 & 10

Traffic what does it do? (1)

States of Guernsey: Absolutely essential; needs everyone trading, (spending and lending needs all forms of transport) to sustain life island wide.

Vital: cars; for work to earn, often randomly variable hours or shift work. Everyone of working age needed. .......... Random use of cars.

Island wide: For full education of family, to interact intimately with extended family and friends; to be good neighbours.

Every (nuclear) household: needs cars per earning adult to access earnings to spend:-

Every Household is: Single, young or divorced; Married/co-habiting couples; couples as parents; single parent; grandchildren, extended families.

Households can include dependant: children, relatives, Friends on same site or island wide.

Needs to work to fund essentials to stay alive: Home to live in: heat, light, water, food, clothing. Transport for all occasions.

Rapid access to obtain food daily or less often: Frequency is dependent on storage space/type and whether fresh (like milk, eggs, bread, dairy, vegetables), frozen or packaged. On demand.

Chemists: on demand, often urgent medical.

Clothing: Random but often urgent on demand, (for children?)

Furnishings: Random, some frequent, some rare: all on demand.

Equipment: On demand, some frequent, some rare

Maintain home: Definitely on demand

Move themselves and dependents to educate children: Schools centralised. 'After school, extra curricula activities' Often many per child.

Leisure: beach/coast, to all specialist provisions: Random dawn to midnight.

Random use of cars needs parking space. All this needs movement. Rapid equals efficient.

Rapid affects Traffic Policy. Rapid reduces pollution and congestion.

Reverse policy: Be radical: work with the motor car

Traffic what does it mean? (2)

On an island which is a rabbit warren network of roads with ribbon development leaving 'walking to buses' quite a problem. Alternatively, a nightmare for a bus company to establish workable routes everywhere all day long.

Fundamental fact: Only one vehicle can be on road per driving licence dictated entirely by need, use and time.

Traffic (part 2) what does 'Rapid movement' mean to us? Rapid reduces fuel used, pollution and congestion while increasing 'production; spend and save' creating time for other purposes.

All life needs random use of vehicles. All uses, domestic and commercial, need parking with rapid, timely movement at actual time of need. An aside: Work times too random; therefore, car sharing does not work; four decades of families have tried it and failed.

But cars use fuel by length of time engine running. Around one gallon (4.54 litres) an hour for modest car engine sizes. Driving around searching for parking increases engine running time: creates greater congestion and pollution. Perhaps two or three times more. Contrary to Traffic Policy.

'States' desperately (pressured?) require reduced pollution: but 'States' impose speed restrictions at inappropriate times e.g. 24/7 around schools operating only part of day five days per week 36 weeks per year.

'States' strategy? Force cars off the road, reduced existing parking area provision and make lots of spaces too narrow for even modest cars. Force increased bus use above current 2%. Increase taxes, especially fuel tax. Draft Island Development Plan will: reduce parking provision in major areas by restricting new home parking to one car and drastically curtail new commercial development parking allocation.

This has two main results:

People going to work circle around more times looking for any space to park. Often repeated to re-park elsewhere during the day. Lost efficiency; increased costs for employers; increased pollution; creates road congestion.

Mind you; States policy has been the problem for workers for decades: just worse. Lost trade. Doubles or trebles cars per hour on roads: increased pollution and congestion.

(2) All trades suffer from lack of customer parking close by. Same 'people' consequences, but, in sickness or in health, customers cannot take anything more than two or three carrier bags on a bus. New IDP makes it worse. Stop this 10-year IDP policy now. Pass it and we are sunk.

Michael J. Parker August 2016

Fundamental fact: ONLY One Vehicle can be on road per driving licence dictated by need, use and time.

'Rapid' means reduced fuel used, pollution and congestion whilst increasing 'production; spend and save' creating time for other purposes. Improved GDP.

PRIMARY FACT: SPEED OF ACCESS IS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS OF ECONOMY

Speed of access does not only depend upon speed of movement A to B: but speed of parking also.

SPEED of Parking depends on two things, 'big enough spaces' and enough of them where you are going.

One vital fact needs to be understood and applied:

All engines burn fuel per hour. Small cars burn fuel at a rate of around 4.54 litres, i.e. one gallon, per hour. Therefore 'standing still' time is expensive in two ways: Standing still extends journey time by that amount. Fuel costs in terms of mpg rises rapidly, BUT and AND, both pollution and congestion increase exponentially.

The current and historical 'green' States strategy for restricting public parking together with the reductions in Household and 'Traders' parking as proposed in the DIDP (parking speed reduction!) will simultaneously increase pollution, congestion and on-street parking Island wide, therefore, large GDP losses which means less 'Budget'. Some years ago Messrs Rowntree and Cadbury created factories with wholesome village layouts for staff to live around them and to create an assessible caring life style for all. They understood two important matters, happy, healthy staff and easy, timely, walking distance access to their place of work. Such a Community is an almost unpriceable fact of successful living. You could reasonably liken our own rather larger Guernsey Community their Factories and Planned Community structure as being with the Factories representing Gross Domestic Product; GDP.

The key fact: interaction(s) Socially and for work are very time beneficial. A short walk to anywhere meant fast access at all times of day or night. Exactly what I am claiming for Guernsey except with scale of Guernsey and its rabbit warren roads, 'close' now means 5 miles and use car). Work with the motor car and facilitate keeping and parking everywhere possible. Add more spaces not remove as it now is.

The current and proposed Traffic Strategy deliberately sets out to hinder car use. Detrimental to Schooling, Health caring needs, 'Good Neighbours' actions and damages all forms of trading by losing 'footfall'. Keeping Cars and Parking everywhere made difficult. Ostensibly to cut pollution and Congestion. Unfortunately, this Policy does the exact opposite; pollution and congestion increases. Loss to GDP and Society! This Policy in the DIDP, is due for debate within the States and voted on around 12^th October: to set it in stone.