Summary
Dear Editor, - Now that the proposal to introduce bus lanes on the Hagley Road has been shelved (albeit temporarily), where do we go from here? First, the new administration must be congratulated for acknowledging that we cannot keep trying to force more and more traffic or differing modes of public transport down our narrow roads. Nor is it the answer to keep widening those roads. It is only 30 years since the Hagley Road was doubled in width from the two lanes that existed prior to 1974.
The plan this time was to widen the Hagley Road to put in bus lanes - but only from Five Ways to Portland Road, which would have supposedly saved five minutes off a journey at a cost of pounds 15 million in public money and untold amounts in loss of amenity and damage to the environment. Widening the Hagley Road would have had disastrous effects on the area for local residents, who would have seen the loss of almost 100 mainly mature trees that provide an excellent counterbalance in the fight against pollution. In addition, the loss of frontages to many Grade II listed properties would have impoverished the settings of these fine buildings which hark back to a more elegant age when beauty - or what these days might be called 'visual amenity' - was more of a priority than it is now.See the full content of this document
Extract
Letter: Widen Our Thinking On Roads ; Bus Lanes
Bus lanes may be a good idea to ensure rapid tran...
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