Friday 8 April 2011

Gridlock City

Yesterday a problem with a crane caused chaos. One incident in town and all the streets are gridlocked. Buses are nose to tail and can't move the queues of people who are waiting.

Birmingham is in transport crisis because it is the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system. It has failed to create this over the last 30 years and is dying as a result. People can't get around reliably and its fatal for any city. Our transport system is worse than 60 years ago. We should be bloody furious.

I don't want to go to Leeds or Manchester, particularly. I don't want 30 minutes trimmed off the journey to places that I don't go anyway.

Birmingham people deserve an effective convenient public transport system in this city. London has underground and suburban rail stations within walking distance of most streets. That's why it gets the investment and jobs, not Birmingham. We don't need a faster link to London. We need faster links to other parts of Birmingham. Let's forget HS2 and get onto the real business, before the price of oil goes through the roof and people can't get to work. It's urgent.

John Newson

No comments: