Are we there yet? Not quite, but we will be very soon, if you help.
Just one more hurdle to rid the City and County of this horrendous plan. Shortly Herefordshire County Council will decide on a new Transport Strategy aligned with its declared Climate and Ecological Emergency and changes to National Transport Policy.
They followed due process with a technical review of past Transport Plans launched in January 2020. The published results were tabulated and discussed at length by the Scrutiny committee, in the light of our declared Climate and Ecological Emergency and the new National Policy emphasis on cycling and walking.The review was cross-checked by a well recognised engineering firm as an external Consultancy. Recommendations were put to the Cabinet to ditch the proposed Western Bypass in favour of quicker, cheaper and far more effective methods to address the traffic congestion.
On 3 December, Cabinet members decided that their preferred approach includes the introduction of measures that provide an alternative to car use including improved facilities for walkers and cyclists and enhanced bus services, along with an additional river crossing to the east of the City. Cabinet has also decided to recommend to full council that the Hereford Western bypass and Southern link road projects are stopped.
Cabinet decided its preferred approach for Hereford would include:
Active travel measures: Walking and cycling, safer routes to school, low traffic neighbourhoods, behavioural change campaign, transport sharing schemes and mobility hubs
Bus improvements: electrification of the urban bus fleet, school bus services, demand responsive bus services and bus priority measures
Car park management proposals
Eastern link river crossing from Rotherwas to Ledbury Road
Further reports are due to be considered by cabinet and full council in January 2021.
They need your support to do this. Please write to them and your local paper to express your views. It has come to our attention that a the pro-development lobby is mounting a final effort to resurrect this damaging proposal despite the lack of funding, lack of a business plan and lack of any respect for our health and environment in our County. The panacea of economic growth at-any-cost is no longer acceptable. Nor is a transport plan that fails to address the key issue of congestion, in the short term and emissions, in the longer term.
Sign up, write a letter, send an email it will all be over very soon if you make an effort now. Visit our website at www.wyeruinit.org for details.
#wyeruinit #stopthebypass #climatechange #climateemergency #sustainabletransport #torycycling