Traffic Management Act 2004

An Act introduced by government, intended

to tackle congestion and disruption on the road network. The TMA places a duty on local authorities to make sure traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities. The TMA gives councils more tools to manage parking policies, coordinate street works and enforce some moving traffic offences.

Section 16 of the Act is the 'Network Management Duty', which states that 'It is the duty of a local traffic authority to manage their road network' in a way that secures 'he expeditious movement of traffic on the authority's road network' - and that actions to achieve this should include 'the more efficient use of their road network'. Which in principle can and should involve reallocating road space to more efficient modes like walking, cycling and public transport, in moving people from A to B.