Make your voice heard
If you have reached this page you almost certainly care about the future, particularly the local and global health of the environment that we share with all living things. As Greens we believe that our individual contribution makes a difference and right now you could influence the local road building plans.
50m wide dual carriageway from the A46 at Stoneleigh
There is an on-line consultation about a new 50m wide dual carriageway from the A46 at Stoneleigh to the heart of Warwick University campus and then extending across the countryside to Balsall Common.
They want to widen some local junctions to handle higher levels of traffic. There is a cycle path alongside the dual carriageway (not much use) and the potential to reduce traffic over Gibbet Hill to help buses/cycles. The dual carriageway is close to oven-ready with the “business case”, traffic modeling and outline route developed, and funding anticipated. In the consultation there is some jam tomorrow talk of rail and cycle routes, but these sustainable bits are speculative, they are in the consultation but not in the proposed scheme or budget.
Despite WCC & WDC declaring that we face a climate emergency there is no consideration of this in any part of the proposal. The Committee on Climate Change say the way forward is to “invest in active travel and public transport and other measures to reduce car travel demand“.
The total budget for local A46 road building is £320,000,000 of which this “phase 2” link road is about £70,000,000. Imagine what else could be done with all that money!
Help Your Green Councillors by filling in The Consultation
It would be great if you could do the consultation at https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/insights-service/a46-link-road-consultation/
This runs until 13th February. A consultation that rejects the road will help our Green councillors achieve a genuinely sustainable approach to transport. So, every contribution will count.
You don't have to answer any more questions than you want, and you can go forwards and backwards to see what it covers. We think option 1 (do nothing) is the least bad of what they offer, and we oppose the road building options as they will make the long-term traffic and environmental issues worse.
There are other questions which you may want to respond to, for example the electric Very Light Rail could make a valuable contribution.
Our goal is to reduce car traffic, not increase it
At the end there is a question which lets you support an "other" option. Our goal is to reduce car traffic, not increase it. The following ideas should be developed:
Car sharing
The university and businesses should work together with the councils to reduce car use. They could be much cleverer with phone/web apps to link people together for sharing, or a new book-ahead minibus or shared taxi service linked to what people need.
Safer roads for cycling
The Dutch have shown that good cycle routes work for lots of shorter trips. Electric bikes mean people can easily cycle further; the university and business area are now in range for many cyclists from Kenilworth, Leamington and most of Coventry. Electrified, not terrified! Cycle routes, such as K2L, can improve travel options for people and should be developed more rapidly.
Better Choices
Help people choose better with a mixture of sticks and carrots such as:
- Incentives for car sharing.
- Demand management using parking charges & availability.
- Congestion charging along with cycling and public transport has transformed London.
- Preferential parking for electric vehicles and charging points for bikes.
Growth in employment or educational activity does not depend on car traffic - it depends on good access
COVID has shown that virtual access can play a significant part in reducing travel.
At the political level we need the transport and planning authorities to adopt a consistent and coherent, area wide policy to reduce car traffic.
