Monday 5 August 2024

to Halesowen Pensioners

You wrote, talking about Merry Hill ( comment in blue)

"It provides employment/livelihood's for at least a thousand people. Attracts people from near and far thus benefiting the local economy. The housing, now well-developed is a thriving community similar to a small town.  This is even more reason for you to support me in wanting 1/2 bedroom apartments for the most badly housed in our borough, at High Plateau.  They then have the choice of either walking to the shops at Merry Hill or walking over the footbridge to the shops in Brierley Hill.
Regarding the metro.  Having had opportunity to use the metro many times I find it a great addition to the transport systems we have. It is quick and convenient and when complete in 2040 but costing £15 billion in Jan 2020 will be a boon to the area helping move people quickly,  complementing the existing modes but being electric has the advantage of being a much a cleaner mode of travel. Perhaps it's possible to have some dialogue with the planners and find a way of mitigating the impact.  The destruction of nature, my guerrilla garden like these

Also, housing land at High Plateau and, the only public open space with a massive £100 m concrete and steel double track tramway viaduct.  Could the £100s million be better spent to extend our regional Fare-Free Public Transport to our children and grandchildren, Bob? 
I think you may also find that the metro runs on specially laid rails due to insulation requirements.  The Metro runs on the railway

between London and Edinburgh that stops commuter, regional and intercity trains on the full, wasted and unused length between Stourbridge Jct and Burton on Trent.  SEE THIS MAP:
Your "specially laid rails", Bob are normal standard gauge as used on the railway network.  Part of their passive provisionOur experts genuinely believe that to get the freight and passenger trains back, the railway must be turned into a tramway first!  They did not have to do this with the Camp Hill line which is getting its commuter trains and three stations back.  Trams first to then get trains back in some future decade is unheard of anywhere else in the world, I believe!  The exact quote is here:

In a letter dated 18.9.2000, from Tom Magrath, Passenger Services Director:

"light rail investment provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services at the appropriate time."

To tell me that light rail Metro was needed to be put on the Black Country Line in order to be able to restore heavy rail services at a later date on that line is complete nonsense.  That idiocy is now repeated with the insistence that Very Light Rail must go on that inter-city line but that it will not stop express and local trains returning at a later date (conversation with David Golding, Principal Strategic Planner, Network Rail at ITA meeting on 16.7.2015)  No wonder, I am thinking that there is something very corrupt, very wrong at the heart of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Network Rail, ITA, Centro - and, for decades, too.  They all want express and local trains returning but want Light Rail and Very Light Rail, first to help get the everyday trains back! WRITTEN 14 December 2015


YOU WROTE;
Do you think that following Brexit and the fact that the West Midlands does not get such a generous level of funding as it did from the European Regional Development Fund, that this has had an impact on the prosperity of the area, disproportionately affecting the less well off?  ME: The less well off have always got the worse deal for many centuries because things are run by the most well off.  And, unconsciously they will be biased towards how they see things, even though they are people of integrity and honour.  My answer to your question is 'No'.  Even with the ongoing cost of Brexit for many businesses, we remain a very wealthy country.  The problem is always how we get that wealth shared out equitably - for social justice and climate justice.  Moving money out of HS2 into more responsible, useful and necessary spending to address transport oddities, poverty and climate is one example of how the Metro millions, too, can be used to benefit poorer pensioners and their children and grandchildren.

Transport oddities = mainline railways almost fully built and safeguarded but then never used or, used for the wrong things!

Money in one pot can easily be put in another pot, as we saw with HS2.  Do the same with Metro to get buses and trains more popular.

The 120 Kms between Worcester and Derby on the London to Edinburgh mainline railway, is being turned into a Light Rail tramway, a 2 Km Very Light Rail test track, a cycle-walkway, heavy rail trains and fresh air!

I am highlighting the regional disgrace of the 20 Kms Black Country Cycle-Walk Mudway that links the above 120 Kms Black Country Railway in the DY5 Enterprise Zone, with NW Wolverhampton and the national canal towpath network.

The authorities will not finish, so we can actually use, these two major UK transport assets that WILL lessen the climate and nature emergencies.

Does this make sense to you, Bob?  Or, am I completely out of my mind ("ranting"), as Tony believes!

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