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Norwich Green Party launches alternative transport strategy for Norwich 5 December 2003 - The Green Party has today launched an alternative transport strategy for the Norwich area. The strategy is designed as an alternative to the preferred strategy of Norfolk County Council and is being launched one week before the end of the County Council's consultation on the possible building of a Northern Distributor Road. In the alternative strategy, the Greens outline solutions to the city's transport problems which they believe will be more effective and cheaper than spending over £100m on a Northern Distributor Road. Councillor Adrian Ramsay, Green Party City Councillor for Henderson Ward, said: "The Green Party has opposed the building of a Northern Distributor Road from the outset - including back in the early 1990s when the County Council abandoned the idea because of the extra traffic the road was expected to generate. Norwich clearly does have transport problems that need solving: congestion means that people travelling in cars and on buses cannot get to their destinations as quickly as ought to be the case. However, time and time again new roads have shown to generate more traffic and not to solve the problem. The only viable solutions are ones which make modes of transport other than the car more pleasant and efficient, and which reduce the need to travel by promoting tele-conferencing over business trips and small, local business over out-of-town superstores. "Even a small proportion of the £100m required for building a Northern Distributor Road could help make bus transport in Norwich much more affordable and reliable. It could also help improve provision for cyclists and make walking more pleasant and safe by funding more 20mph speed limits. "Importantly, our alternative transport strategy is not dogmatically anti-car. Improving alternative forms of transport means the streets will be less congested for those who still need to drive. The Green Party is also in favour of measures to help improve the flow of traffic, such as flashing red and yellow traffic lights at night and more left and right turn filters. "In the last few days of the consultation, the Green Party is encouraging people to respond to tell the County Council not to build a Northern Distributor Road but to instead prioritise improvements to public transport and to consider the Green Party's transport strategy as a cheaper, longer-sighted alternative to its own preferred strategy." Links |