Dear Alec
It is now six years since the start of our campaign, well documented on our blog site, www.lawrrag.blogspot.com, and one year since you brought along the then Shadow Transport Minister, Robert Goodwill, to meet with us. It is also five and a half years since Leeds City Council heads confirmed that there was a serious problem with speeding along Leeds and Wakefield Roads.
Both Robert Goodwill and yourself were scathing of the ‘efforts’ of Leeds City Council, and our councillors, and supportive of our cause, and indeed you made certain local road safety commitments in your pre-election manifesto.
In the six years that the campaign has run, through equal measures of arrogance and ignorance, Leeds City Council heads, officers, and councillors have simply ignored all government guidelines put in place to protect communities from the issues we face, and have shown nothing but contempt for the rights and concerns of scores of local residents.
The intervening six years have seen traffic volumes rise, average speeds increase, noise levels increase, higher numbers of HGV vehicles, and as of now probably a five-fold increase in the number of night time HGV vehicles speeding through the area. Despite there having been two complaints to the office of Local Government Ombudsman, planning consent continues to be given to major developments that have a direct HGV impact upon the area. There is no reason whatsoever why this traffic shouldn’t be restricted to using the direct motorway links. Prior to the opening of the East Leeds link road we suggested that this would result in even more high speed, and HGV traffic, we were told by the ’experts’ that it wouldn’t ………….. IT HAS!
The things that haven’t changed during the six years are the very guidelines and recommendations cited at day one, put in place to protect communities.
Those of us that read your manifesto and have met with you were probably looking forward to some positive action, however given the governments recent, and frankly unbelievable approach to road safety funding, and the decommissioning of speed (safety) cameras, we appear to be worse off than before!
We have seen that Leeds City Council has no idea of the scale of the problem, and the councillors don’t care. The burning question is:
WHAT AS OUR MP ARE YOU GOING/ABLE TO DO FOR US?
We look forward to you earliest possible response.
We have refrained from sending this to members of the Leeds City Council executive board members as it would simply be passed down the line to one of their excuse mongers (it always has before).
On behalf of LAWRRAG
