Help Launch New Transport Campaign Group in South West

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Campaign for Better Transport are launching a SW group in Bristol on Saturday 14 November and are looking for interested persons to get involved....free lunch!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/whats-your-beef-with-transport-in-the-south-west-help-us-launch-new-transport-group-tickets-18822216757

Event Details

What's your beef with transport in the South West?

This conference is for anyone who:
^wants to make a difference and change things for the better
^is currently campaigning to stop a road scheme in their local area, or expects to face a road proposal in the near future
^opposes bus cuts which are leaving the vulnerable, poor and those without a car isolated and disenfrachised
^wants to see rail connections improved with London and the rest of the country
^supports suburban rail and connections to market towns being improved
^fed up with the lack of money being spent on walking and cycling
^concerned about air pollution and other health issues

The relaxation in planning regulations is resulting in sprawling suburban housing estates (swallowing up large amounts of countryside) which generate more car traffic and pollution as it's not viable for public transport operators to serve low density developments. Many of these estates are being built on the edges of market towns which themselves are poorly served by public transport, exacerbating the situation further.

Meanwhile the one rail link to the far South West remains vulnerable to coastal erosion and service interuptions and the idea of a second line to Devon and Cornwall is dismissed as too expensive.  Within the region, there is little or no investment in suburban rail services and connections to market towns.

In stark contrast, money, it seems, is almost no object for road schemes, as the Government and unelected Local Enterprise Partnerships plan to spend billions of pounds on new roads over the next few years. As a result, roads that were cancelled years ago are rising from the dead, threatening to increase traffic, pollute our air, and destroy some of our most valuable countryside. Examples include the A417 in the Cotswolds AONB^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty), the A303 through Stonehenge World Heritage Site and Blackdown Hills AONB.

(You can find out what's planned in your area by checking our online map)

It would seem as though there is one rule for roads and one for public and local transport.  Are you prepared to let this continue?

Help us launch new transport group

The conference will include:
^Views on why a new group for the South West could start to improve things
^An independent view on national and regional transport policy
^Discussion as to the key transport/planning issues in the South West
^Prioritisation of what the new group will work on
^Next steps

Please note, tickets are free and lunch and refreshments will also be provided on the day, but most delegates are expected to fund their own travel expenses. We have a small amount of money available to help with travel expenses for those who would otherwise not be able to attend.

Capacity is limited so please book early - this will also help us with our catering requirements.

[grahame]

Thanks, Chris ... venue is Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft , BS1 3QY Bristol.

Signup form insists you answer about special dietary requirements ... and doesn't offer "no special requirements" as an option. So meeting appears to be for vegans, vegetarians and those with allergies only 

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, I spotted that. I chose 'Other'. Always find badly thought-out forms a bit offputting. Hey ho.

[JayMac]

What's my beef with the transport in the South West?

It's either the fillet steak or the braised ox cheek. 

[bobm]

Ox cheek was off - the 12:06 from Paddington had the smaller kitchen so one of the dishes had to go....

[Chris from Nailsea]

Do TravelWatch SouthWest have any involvement / input with this proposed new transport group in ... err, the South West?

[grahame]

Do TravelWatch SouthWest have any involvement / input with this proposed new transport group in ... err, the South West?

The new group launch appears to be a Campaign for Better Transport initiative / lead, and I've not seen any evidence of other leads. As well as seeing it advertised here, I've heard about it from a local CBT^‡(resolve) 'rep', with a request to publicise - no mention of TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website).

[ChrisB]

I think these are two different organisations - this new one will campaign for sure amongst the travelling public - TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) doesn't get close to that.

[grahame]

I think these are two different organisations - this new one will campaign for sure amongst the travelling public - TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) doesn't get close to that.

Yes - they are different.  I have booked for 14th November.   Effective progress in transport, along the lines that works for the travelling public, requires organisations that co-ordinate travellers, traveller groups, wannabe travellers, local and national government, operators of transport, providers of infrastructure and vehicles and more and gets them talking to each other; that's the TWSW remit.   

At times, kicking action requires strong campaigning groups and that's included "More Train less Strain", the White Horse Alliance, Save the Train, FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways), CBT^‡(resolve) and others.  Different beasts to TWSW, but all of whom are very welcome as members there, and will be effective if they're informed by communication channels.  It makes sense to know which doors are open and what the constraints are of the organisation(s) you're campaigning to - which doors are most likely to be openable , and that's where membership by the campaign organisations of things like TWSW is so beneficial all round.

"Save the Train" is where I started. Membership of TWSW has done so much over the years in helping inform us to ask for things that are deliverable, and to get us to where we are today.

[grahame]

Speaker list from my email ...

We just wanted to let you know that we have two great speakers for the day:

Dr Steve Melia - Senior Lecturer in Transport and Planning at University of the West of England who will be talking about the current transport landscape  [He is author of Urban Transport: Without the Hot Air published this year]
 
Stephen Joseph OBE ^ Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport who will talk about the launch of new group and its potential role.

Not sure if the launch is fully booked

[grahame]

"Campaign for Better Transport" (with capitals) is a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) is a UK advocacy group - formerly known as Transport 2000 - with some very effective work and results to its credit.

"campaigning for better transport" (lower case) is what I've found myself - willingly - involved in over recent years.

Today, I'm taking my campaigning for better transport to a Campaign for Better Transport meeting in Bristol - so as I walked the dogs yesterday, I thought about "better transport".  It's looking for improvements in ...

Getting people, the things they want to take with them, and goods of all sorts from A to B when they want to go, where A and B are the places they need to be (and not just the nearest bus stop or station!) ...

Healthily
At low cost
At reasonable speed
Making effective use of their time as they travel
Environmentaly Friendly
Sustainably
Comfortably
Understandably
Reliabley
Flexibly
Safely
Economically.

Many of these overlap, and some compromise.   What have I forgotten?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Melksham. 

[Red Squirrel]

Melksham. 

He didn't forget Melksham - but he only mentioned it once or twice, and always in the wider context... 

[grahame]

Home ... after an exhausting day.    I've notes from Steven Melia and Steven Joseph's talks which I've posted in "frequent posters" at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=16462.0 - the quality of my text is diabolical and not fit for public consumption.

I will summarise the afternoon discussions if I get a chance tomorrow, or welcome a summary from Red Squirrel

[Chris from Nailsea]

I've notes from Steven Melia and Steven Joseph's talks which I've posted in "frequent posters" at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=16462.0 - the quality of my text is diabolical and not fit for public consumption.

That's why I've tried to edit your text there.