| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Age does weary us. | |
| Posted by: | Simon Hayes | |
| Date/Time: | 12/08/19 12:44:00 |
| Ealing plays a very good game of taking money away when it comes to roads. £11million last year from fines alone. That’s on top of CPZ and parking revenue, all of which is ring-fenced for transport in the borough. Now, according to the Local Implementation Plan which was hushed and rushed through earlier this year the Council is planning to spend millions on cycling infrastructure including bike lanes and bike hangers, the latter costing £5,000 apiece. This is all with the intention of encouraging more cycling because we’re all so unhealthy, according to Julian Bell. That’s fine for the minority for whom cycling is a pleasure but it does little for the majority who either can’t or won’t cycle. It’s not Bell’s place, or any councillors for that matter, to dictate how I should live my life. There are plenty of other activities that encourage a healthy lifestyle that the council chooses to ignore. Providing proper sports facilities in the borough, at affordable rates, would be a start. But instead it gives land to the likes of QPR for nothing on the understanding that there will be some community benefit. And the provision of leisure centre facilities is poor, with Gurnell earmarked for redevelopment this year. The replacement centre will lose open space outside because inevitably they plan to build flats on it. Of course, Bell likes cycling, and I guess he might like a dedicated cycle lane to be built between the house he rents from A2Dominion and the one he owns with his wife. FYI, a kilometre of segregated cycle lane costs £500,000 to build, so you do the maths when it comes to how much of our money is spent on such schemes. |