The consultation survey released by South Gloucestershire Council assumes the necessity for the junction – with the question being between the controversial Pucklechurch or Lyde Green options and only once does it mention the possibility of no junction at all. Greens join those sceptical that the Pucklechurch option is a serious proposal, and is only there to give the illusion of choice.
Chairperson Richard Burton said, “This whole process is a farce – the decisions have already been taken and the consultation fails to ask whether it should even be constructed. This is deliberately misleading the public and is typical of South Glos consultations, which seem only to happen after things have been decided. It’s time the council took its responsibilities to its constituents seriously and stopped using the bankrupt thinking of the last century to solve today’s problems.”
The Joint Transport Study for the West of England, the sole justification for the project, is yet to be published – begging the question of why tax payers are being stampeded into spending over £300m on something for which there is no justification. It has long been established that new roads fail to cure congestion, creating more demand and leading to more traffic and thus more congestion. A study into the junction by the Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study (GBSTS) found that it would temporarily improve journey times for people travelling through the area from outside, but would increase congestion on other parts of the network. The GBSTS study did not support this junction because of the sustainability implications.
South Glos Council itself has a number of policies which relate to the proposal, including transport, pollution, congestion, health, sustainability and environment. None of these support the construction of this junction, and there don’t appear to be any policies that do.
Mr Burton continued, “We would love to see the council to spend £500,000 on a study into alternative modes of transport – active travel and public transport, and for that study to look at the benefits of spending £300m on providing for them. The results would be massively better than spending that money on building this junction and creating more congestion.”
-ENDS-
Contact: Richard Burton; 07963933317, burtthebike@blueyonder.co.ukNote: Figures amended from £100 million to £300 million as reported in Council consultation document