"Better Buses for Brum" petition

Dear Liz - the petition has:

Please explain why you have always fully supported "bus on rails" Metro trams, together with your political party

"The Mayor has failed to secure enough money from his own government to fund transport properly."  NOT TRUE!

In fact, since 2017 when he was first elected, Andy Street, on behalf of Transport for W Midlands, fully supported by all political party colours (including those on the left and good eco-socialists, as I am), has secured many hundreds of millions of pounds in both price and in weight of greenhouse gas emissions for Metro trams to replace and duplicate bus and train services.  This is stupid and irresponsible and escalates the climate emergency.

Tram extensions are the second most expensive transport mode to construct after High Scam 2 that is the world's most expensive to construct.  The money should have been used to extend Fare-Free Public Transport from my old crocks age group to all you youngsters.  And, for all the bus priority measures on the nearside lane of dual carriageways to inconvenience thoughtless car commuters who don't need their cars for their work and should be using buses - buses having top priority.  This will help to free up road space for essential vehicle users.  Expand buses directly on roads (minus the railway tracks) without the grossly extravagant "bus on rails" trams blocking them!

Your actively pursued and extremely costly in finance and climate wrecking policy of "bus on rails" Metro trams is still planned to take precious housing land, the destruction of nature, trees, public open space and my wonderful, vertical guerrilla garden.  PLEASE STOP, CANCEL WBHE PHASE 2 FOREVER and DO BUS PRIORITY MEASURES as I have advised for very many years.

Please write back and explain why I am wrong and you are right, Liz.

Many thanks

The Zero Carbon petition

The Zero Carbon petition (with over 800 signatures from across the region) was introduced, and the following eight actions were recommended to move to a Zero Carbon region.

1)Divest the West Midlands Pension fund from fossil fuel investment.

2)Follow the lead being given by Swansea, Newport and Herefordshire regarding free public transport - let T4WM set up a feasibility study for its introduction in the West Midlands.

3)End the incineration of waste.

4)The WMCA should urge its residents to limit themselves to one return flight every two or three years, pending the development of zero carbon planes.

5)Local authorities within the WMCA area should promote proper climate and environmental studies in all schools.

6)Stop good money chasing bad with HS2 (apart from the environmental devastation it is causing, it is vastly over-priced, will not link to the European High-speed network and has three dead-end stations, London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The Solihull Interchange Station will churn up more green belt land and as for its aim to encourage more economic growth, our planet is not coping with the current level of economic activity, we certainly do not need more of it).

7)Trams are more accessible than buses and trains for disabled people and prams, but they are also very expensive to build and emit a huge amount of CO2 from cement and steel in construction - so the compromise is to stop new growth of this network and use the money to upgrade the current bus and train network instead.

8)As part of accelerating the domestic heating and insulation retrofitting program, can we have the plan for retrofitting published?

The other part of the petition was to call for an open regional forum to allow citizens to discuss the WMCA’s “Net Zero by 2041” plan. This has been agreed and the first meeting will take place on Thursday, March 31st from 6-8pm.

3 petitions on the UK's last mainline railway being obliterated

Dear family - funny/peculiar photos, below as your reward, if you read this first!

I did accept what the authorities started to tell us, since 2019, when they began declaring climate emergencies all over the country.  In that year, I had driven 14,000 miles in my car on medium and long journeys, fossil fuel free bike for the rest and, decided to be a loyal and supportive citizen to help out our regional and national governments in their onerous duties.

With Covid, it was 6,000 miles in 2020.  12 mths ago I said I would cut my mileage by 50% of the 2019 total in 2021 and then maintain it.  In fact, I have driven under 6,000 miles this year by cycling from car to the start of big walks and, limiting myself to two trips to Scotland to continue my attempt on visiting every hill above 2,000 feet (nearly 1,000 mostly rocky summit cairns).  England and Wales completed in 1990 with Pillar Rock.

Another way to bring a brighter, optimistic and safer future is to end the popular 70 year old practice of destroying trams, rebuilding them on our railway and bus networks and, then, building high speed (too fast to stop) railway lines, instead.  But only one person has told me that they have signed my petition(s), below.  Anyone else to help lessen the climate emergency - please?

3 petitions on the same theme!  I've done it because each has a different emphasis and is an improvement on the previous. Each is quick to sign and the three indicate the scale of the scandal over seven decades!

The petition(s) is about the 120 Kms Black Country Bypass Brum Principal Mainline Railway that is already built, every crossing for even motorways are all in place but, the rather vital stations and trains remain missing!

This PETITION is to stop the break up of our mainline railway into Heavy Rail, Light Rail, Very Light Rail and Ultra Light Rail between Stourbridge and Burton on Trent.  To stop the new-fangled Disintegrated Transport Plan of more changes, delays and slower journeys.  PLEASE HELP!

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/get-the-worcester-to-derby-main-line-railway-re-opened

Another petition on the same railway - similar to putting London tube trains on HS1, Eurostar line.  Do our VIPs like being unique, different or, just daft?:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/trains-not-trams-on-uks-last-mainline-railway?share=c263153a-f136-4adb-af43-01b9a509663b&source=email-share-button&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=email

FINISH THE UK'S LAST MOTHBALLED, 120 KMS MAINLINE RAILWAY WITH TRAINS AND STATIONS, NOT TRAMS AND TRAMSTOPS

Rise up, rebel against roads into railways and railways into roads.

Now, in the 3rd year of spending £15 billion of deadly greenhouse gases on 150 miles of "bus on rails" trams, instead of electric buses directly on roads and TRAINS on the 120 Kms Black Country Railway to complete our section between Derby, Dudley and Devon.

The authorities want a multi-modal mish-mash of trains, and three different kinds of "bus on rails" trams on the ready-built but unused middle section of the Black Country Bypass Brum Principal Mainline Railway.  This, for £500 m when finishing it for freight, commuter/regional trains and stations would be a fraction of that price.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/finish-the-uk-s-last-mothballed-120-kms-mainline-railway-with-trains-and-stations-not-trams

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/finish-the-uk-s-last-mothballed-120-kms-mainline-railway-with-trains-and-stations-not-trams?share=1e8d7712-6899-4d12-a7e7-1a65b8fcff05&source=&utm_source=