From our Swindon correspondent:
From the BBC
A commission was set up after Welsh ministers scrapped plans to build a £1.6bn relief road around Newport.
To encourage people out of their cars, its report suggested considering a “workplace parking levy” and ensuring public transport was “affordable for all”.
The panel was told not to consider plans for another motorway.
The M4 around Newport is the fourth most congested stretch of road in the UK.
And the other problem is that you’re about 9 months behind, laddies. There is no congestion at 8am around Newport at the moment. It’s blue all the way from Bristol to Cardiff. Everyone is working at home during Covid. What happens post-Covid? I don’t know but no-one is gagging to get back to the office every day now. So, put a pin in your choo-choos and see what the situation is like before spending a load of money, yeah?
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So, put a pin in your choo-choos and see what the situation is like before spending a load of money, yeah?
This eminently sensible message has failed to reach the ears of HS2, currently despoiling the River Misbourne outside Amersham.
The Department of Transport and the ORR produce figures saying that season ticket sales are falling, season ticket use is falling, peak crowding is falling. That's been happening for at least 3 years. But, we need to build a railway because of growth in demand?
I think there's going to be seismic effects on rail post-Covid. Around half the trips are commuting and that means well over half the money. You lose 10-20% of that, things are going to get sticky. Government is going to have to prop up the rail operators until someone comes along with a Beeching 2 plan.
In my Train Operating Company we were told that season ticket sales paid all the costs of running the business and off peak / leisure fares were the profit.
I’ll go one further I’ve lived in Newport and worked in Cardiff. The geography means the road over a couple of miles goes from 4 to 2 lanes and back a number of times (bridges/overpasses/tunnels) and is also used locally as part of a ring road around Newport. The M4 also acts like another river through the city causing issues as there are limited crossing points and many are tied to busy junctions.
The only practical solution is to build the suggested relief road around the other side of Newport. They did build a new road and bridge to allow you to cut around part of the centre of Newport that did make a difference, but only for local commuters and limited scope, when they shut the M4 (usually a couple of times a year for accidents) it acts as a bypass and is totally jammed
Simple solution: reinstate the transporter bridge. :)
Used to enjoy using that, if there wasn’t a queue could be quicker option.
No doubt the council is fed up of maintaining it again and wants it gone