'No feasible alternative to the car' - traffic levels in city hit all-time high

Traffic levels on Sunderland's road network have hit an all-time high, new figures show.

- by Echo Reporter

New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show drivers in the city covered a staggering 1.1 billion miles on council-maintained roads in 2024 - the highest figure since records began in 1993.

This was slightly more than the 1.09bn recorded a year earlier and also more than in 2019, the last year before the Covid lockdown caused a dramatic fall in traffic nationally.

The figures come despite the Government and North East Combined Authority making major efforts to improve public transport networks-aimed at easing pressure on overcrowded roads and easing the environmental impact of road traffic.

Nationally, 293bn miles were covered on the roads - down from the 299bn a year earlier, and also down on the 313bn recorded in 2019.

Earlier DfT data shows five people were killed and 424 were hurt in road accidents in the city last year. These included 74 pedestrians.