No millions for sustainable transport

With reference to reports in the Advertiser in recent weeks (e.g, “Improvements at roundabouts”, November 19), saying the Royal Borough will spend £6M on roundabouts in Maidenhead town centre and only £475,000 will be spent on walking and cycling.

The Royal Borough says the £6M will “create more capacity and assist traffic flow through Maidenhead, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality”. So, they think more cars going faster is a help towards their zero carbon 2050 target, safety and cleaner air?

Are they planning to take “before” and

“after” measurements to confirm these claims? To what extent did they consider alternative options? eg, reducing the future demand by making alternative modes of travel more attractive. Have they considered promoting electric car pools? Spending on road improvement schemes often results in more traffic, congestion and pollution.

Also, the new Leisure Centre was built away from the town centre and with a large car park, and will cause longer car journeys for many of its users.

The discussion of car travel and parking in the Royal Borough is often unbalanced: the system of motor vehicles coupled with tarmacked roads and car parks is convenient and flexible. However, it should be employed cautiously, especially in town centres. There is not enough mention of the many costs and disadvantages with this system, eg, climate change, air pollution, noise pollution, land taken up by roads, roundabouts, car parks and the high cost of infrastructure creation and maintenance. The cost of this convenience and flexibility is high.

The Royal Borough look guilty of “green washing” and not seriously addressing the climate and environment emergency.

While the planet burns the Royal Borough are busy upgrading roundabouts!

CRAIG MCDERMOTT Secretary, East Berkshire Green Party