from Mark award winning Hipwell

On Mon, 7 Mar 2022 at 14:16, Mark Hipwell <mhsketches@gmail.com> wrote:

Tim,

With all due respect, presumably you've pulled my email from my social media, which is pretty heavy on public transport (particularly trams) advocacy & recently highlighting the good work that I feel Midland Metro Alliance are actually doing. I'd like to see them building more trams, not less so unfortunately I suspect we're not in agreement.

May I add as someone whose day job is technical stakeholder engagement on Major Projects, I can only imagine the level of engagement MMA is completing with Canal & River Trust to construct an asset near the canal, let alone changing the design at such a late stage to cover over the canal? Regarding cost, again I believe the tramline is under construction, any cost savings at such a stage of the construction process would be minimal & presumably lead to abortive design costs.

I do not work for Midland Metro Alliance, nor have I. I can only share my experience working on Major Projects with complex technical interfaces but will share that I'm immensely proud of the award winning work MMA is completing in the city & look forward to getting to ride the trams on the many extensions being built & planned.

Thanks,

Mark Hipwell

25 March 2022

Dear Mark

It was a real delight to receive your email and to read that you are involved in public transport advocacy.  Brilliant!  Thank you for your interest and for actually engaging with me, putting forward another point of view and, presumably, reading about an alternative option that might work.

As a bridge engineer who has won at least one award (Future Face of Industry 2017), can you tell me if it is within the capabilities of civil engineers to build the Metro tram track ABOVE the Dudley No 2 Canal at Merry Hill Shopping Centre, instead of alongside it?  With sufficient space, of course, for the boats to sail underneath.

Has something similar been done anywhere else in the world, do you know, Mark?  I've been told about France and Germany, if you could confirm that, please.

Could we meet on-site for you to take a closer look at my idea and to advise me if it is all feasible?  Attached, at the very foot of our emails, is one official Proposed Plan I have seen from the Midland Metro Alliance.

Thanks again for writing and, every good wish