Leeds trolleybus scheme delayed further

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Mon 16 Jul, 2012 11:29 pm

ote nick="Leodian"]A fleet of solar powered helicopters from near edge of town 'park and fly' centres are what we need. No roads to build. Just land and take off from a covered over River Aire. Ok, yes it's a pie in the sky idea but little worse than the Folly Bus scheme as that seems to be envisaged. Oh dear,where is this all heading ? I strive my best to "keep calm and carry on" but am outweighed by the many negatives surrounding modern day issues affecting "us" Northerners.it's as if we are second(or 3rd)class citizens.We are constantly s**t at from a great height by those who assume we are all ignorant,tolerant to the point of incromprehensibility about all matters noteworthy,and left to pick up the scraps of budgets spent elsewhere to our massive detriment.Only at a 3rd attempt did we manage some jobsworths in Whitehall to pleasure us with a world class budget of £250m pound to deliver a world class transport system fit for the next 50 years.Please forgive me if I feel sick.We are the unfortunate victims of many other more pressing schemes(Crossrail for one) that the London Brigade are far more concerned with.After all.....it's all about the capital of course.Having said that,I cannot possibly condemn Leeds City Council's feeble attempt to "prise" money away from these other schemes more than even a person of the most limited intelligence could.Their woeful,feeble attempts will leave this city with a legacy of lost opportunities and decline in any reasonable inward investment ,from companies looking for "go ahead" cities with a proper transport infrastructure.Our loss will definitely be the gain of others.Of that there is no doubt.The cynical side of me(laughs.....) is ever more subscribing to a conspiracy theory that being "all in it together",the tories are merely buying us off on the cheap.After all,a few years down the line they can say "Well,we gave you what you eventually came up with the right plans for"(to suit the suits of course).In all matters important,for too long now,Leeds just gets kicked in the teeth.Why ?Because for the tories....we are a lost cause,not worth a fight.For Labour ? Smug,knowing that even a pig with a red rosette would win their vote.There lies the problem.....Indifference at both ends of the political spectrum. Just had to get this off my chest you understand......

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 12:13 pm

Leeds: City chiefs accused of ‘lacking ambition’A leading MP has branded plans to introduce the trolleybus scheme in Leeds unambitious and urged city leaders to ‘think bigger.’Leeds East MP George Mudie, the former leader of Leeds City Council, also revealed the city looked into building an underground system in the 1980s.http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... 5002416Now that's one man who seems to be talking sense.As far as I know they're is a growing amount of people campaigning strongly against Folly bus.A meeting has been arranged to co-ordinate opposition to NGT.Time : 7pmDate : Tuesday 16th OctoberPlace : Heart Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 12:42 pm

Good to see that somebody can see the folly of the expensive NGT pipe dream - to even consider spending that amount of money on a virtually islolated venture with enormous traffic difficulties, infrastructure and vehicle availablity headaches, and staff duplicating and training outlay beggars belief. Mini rant over from one who's been in most practical departments of the Industry for a long time.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 12:55 pm

BLAKEY wrote: Good to see that somebody can see the folly of the expensive NGT pipe dream - to even consider spending that amount of money on a virtually islolated venture with enormous traffic difficulties, infrastructure and vehicle availablity headaches, and staff duplicating and training outlay beggars belief. Mini rant over from one who's been in most practical departments of the Industry for a long time. Blakey, I may be wrong but judging by the location the meeting is more likely to be organised and attended by those who are going to be inconvenienced in the short term by the necessary roadworks and attendant congestion(NIMBYs?) I don't think there will be much input from those that are opposed to the scheme full stop including that short ter congestion but extending to all your points and plenty more on this thread.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 1:29 pm

What makes you think that?Anybody know who's organising it?

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 1:38 pm

Here's some of the local sentiment:http://hydeparkandwoodhouseonline.com/

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 2:20 pm

Even Newcastle has an underground system and its a lot smaller than Leeds!

simong · Post by **simong** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 3:28 pm

LS1 wrote: Even Newcastle has an underground system and its a lot smaller than Leeds! Newcastle's Metro has its roots in a widespread interurban network that was developed in the early 20th century and that connected Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and the Tyne and Wear coast, and that survived Beeching more or less intact when the suburban network in West Yorkshire didn't. The underground bit across Newcastle city centre and the QE2 bridge were the only major capital works needed as all the trackbed was still in place and indeed still in use - even the Sunderland extensions that were opened about 10 years were planned to be added to Metro when it was started in the late 70s.Tyne and Wear's transport system was largely decentralised and integrated so there were things like through ticketing between buses, Metro and British Rail with multiple interchanges. WYPTE was pretty much the opposite: Metro is centred on Leeds and it's often near impossible to travel across the area by train without going through City, for example, so the point that we're starting from is a long way from what might have been possible in the early 70s, but the history of Metro suggests to me that such things were never really considered.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 6:39 pm

LS1 wrote: Even Newcastle has an underground system and its a lot smaller than Leeds! It is your right, I do believe Gateshead in area is bigger than Newcastle if you look it up.It looks so on google maps toohttp://goo.gl/maps/QQzuU

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Tue 09 Oct, 2012 9:38 pm

Cardiarms wrote: What makes you think that?Anybody know who's organising it? As I said "I could be wrong". However protests centred in the affected area do tend to be more about Nimbyism than common sense. I'm not suggesting that nobody attending will be against the project just thinking that most attending a meeting in Headingley will be more worried about short term inconvenience rather than the project as a whole.