14th November 2005

Many of us are celebrating your front page news about the superhighway proposals for the A417 south of Gloucester being axed (Glos Echo 12/11/05).

Chris Vickery of planning in Cotswold District Council says "public opposition has forced the project on to the back burner." Indeed many groups like the WI, Friends of the Earth, the Missing Link Action Group and the Gloucestershire Green party have campaigned against the proposed destruction of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. However for many the opposition goes much deeper than your article suggests.

This project may result in less congestion in the short term, but in the longer term it will serve only as a magnet to more traffic; look at the M25 which was going to solve London's traffic problems. The motorway in fact helped generate more road traffic - just as this scheme for the A417 will do if it ever goes ahead.

The Highways Agency are predicting that the 129 roads in their trunks roads programme will lead to an average 25% increase in traffic, and huge increases in CO2 (i). We cannot build our way out of congestion as Labour is trying to do with their £30 billion road building plans - and their recent suggestion to limit Public Inquiries to get the projects adopted is outrageous (ii).

Sadly our County Council's Local Transport Plan also fails to grasp the seriousness of this issue and fails to invest properly in public transport (iii). Our present transport system is like some museum exhibit when compared to other European countries. We cannot and must not go on like this. This really is not a game. We need to take some tough decisions and invest seriously in a Green transport revolution if we want to reduce the catastrophic effects of climate change for ourselves and future generations.

Philip Booth, Press Officer, Gloucestershire Green Party.


Notes:

(i) See : http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1604613,00.html
But also note that the Lib Dems have not always been consistent on this issue:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=436&Itemid=0

(ii) See: http://www.transporttimes.co.uk/;news;item/1/20/

(iii) Gloucestershire Green party's submission to the LTP will be available very soon.