The research found that 54% of London’s businesses rate the roads as getting worse, up from 42% at the end of last year.
The top three concerns for the Capital’s road network are congestion (90% said that they are somewhat or very concerned), quality of road surfaces (87%) and disruption caused by road-works (82%).
In response, London firms highlighted the priorities for the Capital’s roads as the implementation of smarter traffic management systems, moving more journeys from roads to other means of transport, greater flexibility for deliveries and the construction of new tolled underground tunnels.
In particular, businesses were enthusiastic about new ideas to improve the Capital’s road network, expressing support for greater flexibility for freight, including trialling out-of-hours deliveries, and building new tolled underground tunnels as alternatives to existing routes.
Sara Parker, CBI director London, said: ‘Being able to get from A to B is a significant factor for business investment decisions so London’s companies want new airport capacity, improvements to roads, a commitment to Crossrail 2 and better access to London’s airports.’
Richard Reid, London Chairman at KPMG, added: ‘As London’s population increases it becomes more urgent that the City has infrastructure that works properly. Building more roads in London is not an option so smarter management of our already overloaded system, through improved bus times, better use of existing road space for essential vehicles and possible road tolling, particularly in congested peaks, will be required to keep the city moving and to keep on attracting companies to base themselves here.
‘Continued investment in London’s infrastructure is absolutely vital to growth and in connecting us to the rest of the world.’
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