Friday 4 April 2008

Some relief for Milton Road - There will be no Waterbeach "eco-town"

Our battle against mad ideas affecting Milton Road has notched up a success.

Yesterday, the government announced their shortlist of so-called eco-towns, and Waterbeach has been dropped from the plans.

That's great news, as there is no way that the A10 and Milton Road could cope with the traffic that this would generate. Waterbeach is too far out of Cambridge to get people cycling and walking - they would drive.

When asked for her comments, Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Growth, Sian Reid, said:
"I'm delighted that Waterbeach wasn't included in the shortlist. We fought hard to protect the area and our dedication paid off. It is a real relief for all our wards near the A10, especially the Milton Road area. Putting more pressure on key radial routes into the city would have dramatically damage the quality of life in there areas."
Unfortunately, the local Labour councillors still think that putting towns where there is not good transport is a good idea. In comments about another proposed town, still on the list, Labour Parliamentary candidate, Daniel Zeichner "dismissed additional claims that an eco-town would destroy an area many consider to be a rural idyll and said the 8,000 homes were a boom".

Clearly he's another one backing Gordon Brown's approach of "growth, growth, growth". It's time he found a sustainable way of running our economy, rather than putting our communities and environment under such immense pressure.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well it's certainly a good thing that the already overtaxed roads are not going to be hammered even more.

But it's either facetious or ignorant to dismiss cycling as a viable commuting method between Waterbeach and Cambridge. I know several people who do so regularly.

Mike said...

I wasn't the original author, but...

I think that the fact some do does not alter the fact that the vast majority currently don't and wouldn't if it was expanded. This isn't facetious or ignorant but based on how people reasonably behave. People in the new development would, for the most part, drive.

It is more realistic to expect people to walk or cycle within the city. I think that planning to allow short journeys is vital for sustainability.

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