New Traffic Count Vital to Head Off Lorry Terminal
December 15, 2011 8:20 AM
Commenting on the most recent exchange of letters between the Government and the public inquiry witnesses about the next steps on the decision-making for the Park Street lorry terminal, local Liberal Democrat campaigners Sandy Walkington and David Parry have called on the county council to act before it is too late.
"The recently published Department for Transport ministerial statement on strategic railfreight interchanges could have been written by Helioslough," said David Parry. "The official responses from both the Department for Transport and Network Rail also go out of their way to attack the evidence given by St Albans District Council, which concentrated on rail issues. In short they are trying to give the strongest possible green light for a Strategic Railfreight Interchange (SRFI) on the Midland Main Line."
"We are on the edge of a precipice," said Sandy Walkington. "Increasingly the only game left in town looks to be the two arguments put forward by David Parry and myself. These were the lack of extra carrying capacity on the local road network and - if the Midland line is suitable for an SFRI - the existence of a better alternative site at Sundon.
"Crucially, the new Department for Transport guidance demands 'good road access', as in its words 'this will allow rail to effectively compete with, and work alongside, road freight to achieve a modal shift to rail'. We all know this is simply not achievable on our own overcrowded and congested local roads. But we must have an urgent traffic count to provide the latest data on the impact of the recent M25/M1 widening.
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that congestion on the A405/A414 is already much worse than previously, as higher volumes of traffic using the widened M1 and M25 pour on and off the local feeder and distributor roads. Traffic now backs up to the Park Street roundabout on a daily basis. Last Tuesday was particularly bad. The County Council is our highway authority. Disgracefully, it sat on its hands and did not participate in the last Inquiry. It's now time for it to pull its collective finger out and measure and share current traffic data before it is too late," Sandy concluded.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats