Usenet wrote:

In message , Chris Jones
writes

Surely new roads giving people new possibilities to travel, meet
friends and relatives, and go for days out should be celebrated? After
all, that means our standard of living has increased, surely.


New roads promise the idea of emancipation, when they really only offer
a new version of hell.
1. Any new road is quickly filled by drivers doing exactly what you're
doing; taking advantage of a supposedly easier way to travel from 'here'
to 'there'.

And why shouldn't they if that's what they want, who are you to deny them?

2. New roads cost. Not just the building cost, but all those other
factors: loss of trade to local shops, loss of views, communities cut
off from each other, and my favourite bete-noire - the bloody noise!
There are vast areas of Southern England where it's now impossible to
get away from the sound of cars and motor-bikes screaming along at top
speed (a jam on the M25 now provides a gentle respite for the
communities alongside it - say anywhere up to 3 miles away).

If we (the people) can afford it and that's what we (the majority) want,
Why not? Your objections seem selfishly based.

3. Older road-planing cost us loads. The way roads are/were costed was
to value the land, meaning it was always cheaper to go though areas
which weren't farmland or housing. Trouble was, in these over-crowded
islands, that meant the areas that were cheapest were also the areas
that benefited least from roads: common land, woodland, SSI, etc. Still,
it gives a nice view from the car, doesn't it?

Yeah great view, especially for those who are stuck with living in
concrete jungles, If they can get access to a car they can at least
experience what life is like beyond walking/bus distances.