Dear Ed (Ed Cox is Director of Inclusive Growth and Public Service Reform at WMCA)
Greener Together Forum on Transport
I remain very concerned that after 41 years of your seven councils, regional and national governments attempting to rebuild the tram network, that was only obliterated twenty years earlier between 1950 and 1960, you have still not come anywhere near to achieving this forty year old ambition. This, even though you were rebuilding the tram network on the railway network for both Snow Hill to Wolverhampton and from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill. Astonishing!
This does raise the question if local, regional and national governments are competent. Why this self-inflicted idiocy? All you had to do was to stop destroying our railway network for roads and buildings and, then, not to put Metro trams on what survived the onslaught, the obliteration but, simply, to put back the commuter and regional trains that had been so successful for 100 years!
This incompetent idiocy has gone on for decades and, now we are in a state of multiple crises - climate, a proxy war, energy, cost of living, inflation and, last week a stupidly, self-inflicted, national financial crisis to add to all our self-inflicted problems. Yet, you blithely carry on regardless with Metro instead of (non Sprint) buses and trains! In fact, you are reinforcing all our problems by continuing to give top priority to Metro, and without even a nod in the direction of democracy with a proper process of discussions, debates and then votes. Never any democracy involving the public with all the facts and figures given! Even when Andy was re-elected last year, a Mayor with, supposedly, no dictatorial power, none of us were informed about his £15 billion, February 2020 tram plan. He is meant to be working with the seven council leaders and representing their democratically voted on manifestos. He has no authority to push through his own wishes, especially when there has never been any discussion, debate and vote over the wisdom of pursuing Metro expansion.
Yesterday, I wrote this to you:
Might there be a full explanation for Andy Street's planned 150 miles, 380 tram stops and 8 lines of Metro network of underground and overground "bus on rails" trams by 2040? Only a drop in the ocean at £15 billion was the Feb 2020 figure. However, all this at a time of national financial crisis - and every other kind of crisis! Better still - even a pro and con debate by your transport experts over this latest extensive tram network, perhaps? Edinburgh City Council had two lots of discussion, debates and votes before going ahead with their two tram projects. See
As they did things properly, could we not at least have a full, for and against, debate in our Greener Together Forum, please? A lot of taxpayers' money is involved and we need to be very well informed, I think.
Best wishes for a revolution in turning from wrong priorities to all the right ones.
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