Transport
Road travel has increased 83% since 1980 creating more congestion, pollution and carbon emissions.
Do we want cars to dominate our local environment?
Do we really need the car each time we use it? Could we combine tasks, give someone a lift? Pick up shopping on the way home?
Could we use public transport where available?
Could we walk? or cycle?
What would we do if fuel was £10 a litre? What would we do without fuel?
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Alban Thurston said,
April 4, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Sustrans’ National Cycle Network runs through the Wandle Valley, in the shape of the Wandle Trail. It is in process of being upgraded with re-signing, with the promised co-operation of local councils. Sustrans plans further expansion of greenways reaching the All England club from across SW London, as part of its “Greenways for the Olympics & London 2012″ (GOAL 2012) initiative.
Other local groups are campaigning for more sustainable transport. In central Wimbledon, Merton’s branch of the London Cycling Campaign is pressing for extension & active enforcement of the 20 mph speed limit. We are also discussing with Network Rail a staffed & expanded cycle park at Wimbledon Station.
Chelsea tractors clogging SW19’s narrow streets during the school run are evidence of the self-defeating over-protectiveness of some parents who suffer from anti-social motoring attitudes. How long before we have a squad of “midnight ticketers”, peacefully leaving spoof “parking tickets” on the windscreens of publically parked 4×4s ? All perfectly legal, provided the vehicles are not parked on private land. What do other Green Mertonists think ?
Gerhard Bissels said,
September 5, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
We all love to loathe 4×4s and those middle-aged people who use them to take the dog for a wee-wee. But let’s focus on positive projects!
In the summer holidays I visited Freiburg’s latest car-free, low-energy development, the ‘Quartier Vauban’ (http://www.vauban.de/info/abstract.html). Homes there must at least meet low-energy standard, but many exceed that and are ‘Passivhaus’ (zero energy) or ‘Plus-Energie-Haus’ (houses that feed more electricity into the grid than they draw). There is a huge variety of terraced houses and blocks of flats, with communal gardens and playgrounds between them. A tram line and cycling paths connect Vauban with the city centre and other parts of Freiburg, but there is only short-stay parking for deliveries etc. Residents who own a car are obliged to leave it in a car park outside of the development - at considerable expense. There are attractive small shops with organic food, second-hand clothing etc. along the tram corridor, and a large organic supermarket on the edge of Vauban. All in all, a truly sustainable development which is also extremely pleasant to live in!
Why do new developments in Merton still look like Lego-brick houses, with parking for two cars a standard feature of even the tiniest hut? Why don’t we use CHP and solar? Why not have small quality food shops near people’s homes rather than a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a Sainsbury’s housed in ugly sheds behind vast car parks at the edge of a development? Shouldn’t we rather follow Freiburg’s example, than turn Merton into another Croydon? Sutton has BedZed - would it be possible to persuade Merton council to try something similar?