22/06/2022
Collisions between animals and cars are another big problem. Sarah Perkins, a Cardiff University lecturer, coordinates Project Splatter, a decade-old citizen science research project which monitors wildlife killed on UK roads. It receives about 10,000 reports of dead animals every year she says, but Perkins believes that’s a fraction of the real total. Some studies have put roadkill numbers at hundreds of millions a year in Europe alone.
Putting roads underground "could lead to less wildlife-vehicle collisions", Perkins says – provided the animals didn't use the tunnels. It would also remove light and noise pollution, which can affect animal behaviour around roads, she adds.
Despite these huge ecological impacts of getting rid of roads, however, it would be in cities, which are predicted to hold 70% of the global population by 2050, where the newly freed-up space would have the biggest impact on people.
"Can you imagine how the cities will be transformed?" asks Tom Ireland, projects director of tunnelling at engineering company Aurecon. "If you want to revitalise the city centre, you pedestrianise the roads." It would open up room for trees, linear parks, landscaping, pavement cafes and scores of other public amenities.
