Published by Michael Kilpatrick, 30 Royston Road, Whittlesford
on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, c/o Timothy Stone, 4 Church Lane, Whittlesford.
The views expressed are those of the candidate and party, not of the service provider.
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Transport
Congestion Chargin
Congestion charging is ultimately necessary if public transport is to compete with the private car on a level playing field.
However,
Liberal Democrats are
clear in their aim of
opposing congestion charging in Cambridgeshire
unless it delivers a step change
in
public transport. Congestion charging has to exist only to discourage private transport in favour of public
transport. If that public transport infrastructure never materialises, congestion charging will be a con, another stealth tax.
For the villages, Liberal Democrats will work with the County
to improve transport provisions and pursue an integrated transport policy.
Railways
Sadly, the only "improvements" in public transport we have seen recently were the renaming of Whittlesford
railway station to Whittlesford "Parkway" and the repainting of the rolling stock and station signage to advertise "One"
instead of the previous rail franchisee. Rather than telling the residents of Whittlesford that they now
live in a railway car park, why not spend that money making it possible for a wheelchair or a pushchair to cross between
the two platforms? Alena and I have a toddler. We know how difficult it is. One of us alone can't practicably go to Cambridge
with the baby and pushchair because the Whittlesford station bridge is a barrier to us.
The MisGuided Bus
Furthermore, Cambridgeshire's transport infrastructure is being ruined by the Labour government and the
Conservative County Council.
They are ripping up a perfectly serviceable railway to build a Guided Busway between Cambridge and Huntingdon.
How many thousands of tons of concrete and asphalt are being poured onto the landscape to replace what was already there
and which actually required very little fresh material input to restore it to working condition?
The MisGuided Bus is an act of gross environmental vandalism if nothing else. It certainly
isn't an integrated transport policy. There simply isn't room on the streets of Cambridge for all those buses coming
off the busway. The projected figures don't add up and never did, yet project is going ahead.
I did my bit for the railways by supporting the aims of the CAST.IRON railway
action group. I also lent my garden shredder to the action group that fought to preserve Histon Station by clearing
the tracks and restoring the grounds.
Park And Ride
The fundamental flaw in the concept of Park & Ride is that it merely encourages commuters to drive from their villages
to the edge of a city.There is still the requirement for miles and miles of road to take those cars from the villages
to the city edge and there is more incentive to build dormitory towns where they don't really belong. This may
benefit city dwellers but the residents of South Cambridgeshire district gain little.
Liberal Democratpolicy is to provide for an outer ring of Park & Ride facilities. The aim is to put the
bus terminus near the commuters, not near their intended destination. This will reduce car-miles in the countryside
as well as in the city.
