Transport Tube network ‘not the be-all and end-all’
GREEN Party demands for transport chiefs to consider alternatives to an underground for Bristol were backed unanimously – after the city council’s Labour administration said that was already happening.
Cllr Emma Edwards’ motion to full council sparked a debate and political attacks across the aisle, but ultimately ended in everyone agreeing a tube network was “not the be-all and end-all” for the region’s mass transit system.
Her proposal calls on the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is in charge of the region’s transport, and Bristol City Council to consider all options, including trams, trolley cars and buses for how people should get around in future.
Cllr Edwards’ motion was prompted by a recent commitment by Weca’s political leaders, including metro mayor Dan Norris and Bristol’s fellow Labour mayor Marvin Rees, that “tunnels may well be needed” at pinchpoints such as Gloucester Road and Temple Meads.
She feared this could mean a feasibility study into mass transit currently being undertaken by the combined authority, which is set to report back in the coming months, would favour an underground when other modes of transport were cheaper and less harmful to the planet.
But city council Labour cabinet member for transport Cllr Don Alexander said the Greens mistakenly believed the administration’s focus was on underground rail.
He said: “The most disappointing fact about this motion is that it has seemingly been written without reference to the long available information already on the public website where the main features of a mass transit system are set out clearly.
“There has never been any intention to replicate the mass transit systems of London or anywhere else. It will not be an ‘underground’ like London’s which, as most of us know, less than half of it is underground anyway.”
He said a mass transit system could run both over and underground.
Labour Cllr Philippa Hulme said: “While the underground sections of our proposals get the headlines, they’re not the be all and end all.
“You only need to look at the map we published of the proposals last year to see they include expanded metrobus and train routes alongside mass transit routes.”
Cllr Edwards pointed out that last month Mr Rees wrote on his blog he was “pleased to secure commitment from Weca on the need for tunnels”, which she said demonstrated how much he favoured an underground.
She said after the meeting: “I am delighted that the motion passed. This sends a strong message to Weca and Bristol council not to put all our eggs in one basket – we will be able to look at all the options for a future transport system, including ones that can be implemented faster than an underground.
“I’m glad council has recognised the need to act with climate change in mind and that we can now get on with the task of delivering the best transport for Bristol.”
Councillors from other opposition groups branded the idea of an underground “fanciful” and “pie in the sky”, while Mr Rees said the debate should be “bottled” because of all the negativity.