It’s a scandal that, for one of the most important transport connections in the UK, no serious exploration of alternatives has ever been undertaken until now.
Read our Essex-Kent Superlinks report here: buff.ly/41elq19
Each year we look at new housing developments to find out if there are good places to live that don't require a car. Our volunteers make this possible by making site visits and reporting back on their findings. If you're interested in becoming a volunteer, please sign up here: buff.ly/3DkU8hq
Our report, Essex-Kent Superlinks, shows there are good alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing.
Scrapping the Lower Thames Crossing and choosing solutions which address the needs of working people would be transformative for them and the economy.
buff.ly/41elq19
The Essex-Kent Superlinks report highlights alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing. Alternatives that would be transformative for working people and the economy!
Read the report here: buff.ly/41elq19
the boss of Transport for London tells FT he wants employers to encourage staff to come into the office more frequently:
but TfL mandates its office-based staff to be in the office only 50% of the time....
www.ft.com/content/7397...
2,500 trees felled to create two additional lanes and two new junctions on a 5.5-mile (9km) stretch of the A47 between North Tuddenham and Easton, Norfolk
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
In this short report, Keith Buchan, a highly experienced transport planner, makes recommendations for safety improvements on the A66 which could be implemented now, at low cost, rather than waiting five years for the £1.5 billion A66 scheme to be built transportactionnetwork.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Good news in Wales: Young people aged 16 to 21 will be able to ride for £1 on buses across Wales
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
making trips due to lower travel cost (mostly shifted from car); 16–24 year olds, urban; frequent bus users benefit most by more trips/perceived positives.
Value for money hard to assess, but ‘low’ even with unquantified extra benefits.
EVALUATION OF FIRST 10 MONTHS OF THE £2 BUS
FARE CAP January-October 2023, England
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a5f5...
Key results :
Approx. 5% increase in bus pax.
Savings vary significantly.
Travel costs cut.
Main beneficiaries probably:
those who'd travel even if no cap; those
So basically a 'Mobility Hub' is a car park with some cycle parking, which happens to be near some bus stops and 6 minutes walk from a tram stop.
Sounds rather like Leith Street.🤷
citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/idoxpa-web/a...
h/t @harryjwilliams.bsky.social @edi.bike
BUS STOPS MORE THAN 6 YEARS OUT OF DATE
In 2018, Stagecoach West renumbered its Swindon–Oxford route from 66 to S6.
In 2020, @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social reinstated route 63.
The stops at Petypher Gdns, Witney Rd, Kingston Bagpuize, are more than 6 years out of date.
www.facebook.com/bususersoxfo...
Good news from Greater Manchester, where in the last five years:
🚶People walking short journeys has gone up - from 52% to 57%
🚗And people driving short journeys has gone down - from 41% to 36%.
highways-news.com/bee-network-...
Oxford, Witney and Carterton rail link feasibility study is published in full https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxford-witney-and-carterton-rail-link-feasibility-study-is-published-in-full/
BUS STOPS MORE THAN 6 YEARS OUT OF DATE
In 2018, Stagecoach West renumbered its Swindon–Oxford route from 66 to S6.
In 2020, @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social reinstated route 63.
The stops at Petypher Gdns, Witney Rd, Kingston Bagpuize, are more than 6 years out of date.
www.facebook.com/bususersoxfo...
The Lower Thames Crossing scheme was predicted to cost £9bn in August 2020. Applying inflation for road construction up to September 2024 gives a new total of £11.3bn.
It fails on ALL its scheme objectives and will only bring 5 years of traffic relief at Dartford for 7 years of disruption!
How does the Government intend to address the connectivity needs of SW England?
Our report looks at alternative transport investment in the South West after the cancellation of the A303 Stonehenge and A358 road schemes. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/wp-content/u...
This should be a wake up call for the Government.
Instead of spending £billions on new roads, funding should be prioritised for public transport and active travel.
There appears to be a mistaken belief that any infrastructure project is good for the economy.
This is despite the government’s own projections showing congestion would worsen even if all the schemes in the current roads programme were built!
Focussing on removing planning constraints and reducing opportunities for legal challenge misses the bigger problems causing delays, such as poor developer proposals, or slow decision making, of which the government is as guilty as anyone else it cares to blame.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
These flaws then affect decision-making, with the government often taking far longer than the three months allocated.
We should by all means speed up vital infrastructure, but we should be honest about where the problems lie.
Our letter in The Times 👇🏼
including promoting roads when we need better public transport. In the case of the Lower Thames Crossing, it wasted years producing something so flawed that it had to withdraw its original planning application.
The government has made much of its desire to speed up planning decisions, yet by focusing on the legal system it is missing where the real problems lie.
This is especially true for road building, where National Highways spends years developing unsuitable and unpopular proposals
Our letter printed in The Times about the government wanting to speed up planning decisions 👇🏼
Large, polluting, dangerous SUVs are taking over our streets. But there is an alternative…
The SUV Alliance are taking action with their 5-point manifesto for safer, fairer streets, without SUVs.
suv-alliance.org.uk
#SaferStreets
#FairerStreets #WithoutSUVs
Rachel Reeves is talking about growth but wants to go ahead with the Lower Thames Crossing 🤔
It would make a poor investment and deliver little economic growth compared to its huge cost.
There is cross-party opposition to the Lower Thames Crossing, with Labour and Reform Councillors and MPs speaking out against it thurrock.nub.news/news/local-n...
In five miles of route that we inspected, only one stop advertises route 24. It is at Lathbury Road northbound on Banbury Road. But it has no Grayline route 24 timetable, as its @oxfordshirecc.bsky.social timetable case is broken!
See our photo report on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?v...
