Steve Gaunt Pontificates

Local Transport

This one is a real pain and I will try to be brief on this, one of worst examples of what is wrong in our area.

Kirklees/ Huddersfield is credited with having the worst roads in the whole of the country. This, in any sane district, might give the council reason enough to spend some money on road improvements and sure enough that's exactly what they say they are doing. However their conception of road improvements is somewhat different to a sane persons view.

What they call an improvement entails making the roads worse to drive on for the everyday motorist. Why? because their belief is that we should discourage people from using cars and encourage them to use public transport.
They do this by making the main feeder routes of which some were dual carriageways, into single-track roads along which there is a bus lane and a cycle track. They improve the Ring Road by adding another set of traffic lights. If we get many more there won't be a car length between them. Possibly not even a bicycle length!

They say this is the way forward and then wonder why Huddersfield gets the highest air pollution rating in the whole country. Don't they realise that stationary traffic produces much more pollution than moving traffic.
Their policy forces no on off of the road. In fact we all spend more time there!
Why should we spend hours on infrequent, overcrowded, inconvenient buses and trains.

Sometimes they say that there is no other way, or that integrating all our transport will be too expensive. Is this really true?

Take a look at Coventry for example, a town much the same size as Huddersfield and not the place that springs to mind as a good example of anything, but their inner ring road and trunk road feeder system is excellent. There are no traffic lights on the Coventry ring road, and no unnecessary pedestrian crossings. Overpasses and slip roads take the place of umpteen sets of traffic lights. For pedestrians bridges and safe underpasses are provided. As a consequence buses, cars, lorries and people all move freely and efficiently to where they need to go with little danger.

If Huddersfield wants to attract the type of new industry that Coventry does then we should adopt a similar approach.

Here is a statement often thrown up by the supporters of our present transport polices

'A consequence of building more and better roads is to produce more cars.'

What planet are the people on who came up with this gem, Certainly not one where the normal laws of science apply. I am sorry but better roads do not magically produce more cars. This is utter nonsense.

Another brilliant joke was the recent statement made by our council on the future of the link from Cooper Bridge to the motorway at Brighouse.
It seems that this piece of road is in Calderdale and not Kirklees. Calderdale are not interested in improving a road which does not take motorway traffic (and as a consequence commerce) into their area. Fair enough.
So Kirklees has asked if they will transfer the area to us as we do see the importance of the road as a high priority feeder in our area.
What!!
I must be missing something here.

This road leads to Cooper Bridge then to Huddersfield via Leeds Road, a road which we (our council that is) is in the process of turning into one of their wonderful bus lane/cycle track abortions.
Leeds Road (and the feeder to the motorway) should be a fast dual-carriageway encouraging commerce to see Huddersfield/Kirklees as a good place to set up business. I suppose their idea of improving the motorway link will be to add a bus lane or maybe a cycle track?

I have to limit the length of Pontificates, so this must end here, lets hope that one day we get roads and transport worth the money WE spend on them, unfortunately its not in the foreseeable future.

Your views on Steve pontificates.
I would be a hypocrite if I didn't allow any replies to my pontifications so if you want to contribute send your piece to steve_gaunt@huddersfield1.co.uk

Introduction	Local Transport
Old Mill Buildings	Old Mill Buildings 2
Jobs For Over 40's	The University Page
Kirklees Roads - Part 2	The Euro Debate
The UK Drugs Debate	Music Snobs
Aunty Beeb	Desert Island Disks
Fashion	The Internet
Response From Steve