Proposed resolution to show solidarity with Clean Kilo - the zero waste and organic food shop

Proposed resolution to show solidarity with Clean Kilo - the zero waste and organic food shop at 1 Gibb Street, Digbeth

This meeting of Birmingham and Black Country Left Unity political party has passed this resolution today, ..., 2021

We are very concerned that this low climate impact, sociable and socialist, small business is in danger of closure for reasons that include the devasting road works outside the shop for the very high impacting Metro tram works.

We note that the tram is called a "bus on rails" when we already have buses without rails directly on roads that would be simpler and cheaper to replace with electric ones than the ten times more expensive per Km to construct Metro trams.

We join Mayor, Andy Street in his "utterly unacceptable" description of the £5 m replacement of the five-year-old tram tracks in Corporation Street that is threatening the livelihoods of the workers in the businesses in that road, too.

We fully support the Brum cyclists who are up in arms at their exclusion from part of Broad Street because of the trams taking over from buses and cars - and now cycles, too - in that, former major bus route into the city centre.

We condemn the sidelining of public transport and cycling in this way when it is urgent that we act on the city council's climate emergency declaration in 2019:

1. by slashing the unnecessary expenditure of deadly greenhouse gases.
2. by discouraging car use and encouraging the use of buses directly on roads, minus the rails and, cycling.
3. by encouraging those with disabilities to have greater freedom to choose, if they wish, to move around the city, in their cars, on less congested roads.

WE CALL ON THE CITY COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE DEVASTATING IMPACTS ON CLEAN KILO FROM DECISIONS MADE WITH ALL GOOD INTENT BUT IS NOW SHOWING VERY SERIOUS UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

Tim Weller

Cyclists help to keep the monster behind the wheel!

I don't always stop at red lights when on the bike. Years ago I used to get off and push the bike across, as a pedestrian, when it was safe. In more recent years, I feel it is safer and quicker to go across on red without walking with the bike. I also feel it is my reward and my prerogative for sacrificially and nobly leaving the car at home and for taking the bike to free up the road network for motorists who don't have my thoughtfulness, consideration and altruism!

In conversation with friends, colleagues and relatives, I do try and encourage these committed car addicts to, at least, let the cyclists go first, to be especially careful at roundabouts and to keep to this hierarchy:

• Motorists give way to cyclist and walkers.
• Cyclist must give way to walkers.
• Cyclists should be treated more as walkers than motorists. Two use human power and reduce NHS costs; one is taking our dwindling oil reserves and contributing to ever higher oil prices and rising global temperatures. What the carbon polluters take today, none of us will have tomorrow.

Motorists are a major part of the problem; cyclists are a major part of the solution. Cyclists are the true patriots who are preserving the nation's wealth, slowing the liquidising of our assets, and slowing the devastating effects of human induced, climate change. We are the true friend of the motorists. Motorists should be saluting us in grateful acknowledgement of our noble efforts, on their behalf, to keep that little more oil in the ground to enable them to keep driving that little bit longer!

I will forgo the salute if they only give me a wide berth and, like me, try to cut their car use before they are forced to do so by circumstances - later this century, I would think.