Don't quite know what to make of this, martyjon. I can believe that there were plenty of sceptics about, but aren't these meetings about signing off an 18-year plan? Are you saying that they are not going to sign off the JLTP?
My impression of
WECA» is its nothing more than a white elephant talking shop, sign off a JLTP, yes, but when it comes to implementing the plan and the money is not there, what then.
A leading light of FOSBRA was at Fridays meeting and departed at the lunchtime break even though a statement had been submitted by the individual which entitled the person to speak in the afternoon session. A second leading light of the same organisation said to me, "we've (FOSBRA) lost our way". The first leading light mentioned approached me before the meeting started and asked me if our little group at Yate which has morphed from 'Friends of Yate station' into 'Yate and surrounding area transport forum', would be interested in joining a "Bristol Rail Revival Group', What do you make of that ?
In another brief conversation with the same individual mention was made of tram-train, what did I think. My response was, 'Do you think
NR» will allow a tram-train to operate beyond Temple Meads to Bath and beyond meaning Westbury direction, to Yate / Gloucester, I don't.' Their eyes lit up, 'your thinking along the same lines as me' but the despondency was there and the individual, as stated above, didn't remain for the afternoon session.
Now if Tim Bowles and WECA had done their homework, or even Chris Grayling. who suggested tram-train in the first place, had done his, how about the class 230 Vivarail conversion of ex LT District Line stock. Remember earlier this year Grahame brought this forums members attention to an
AGM▸ of his favorite lines supporting group where the speaker was to extol the virtues of 'GO-
OP▸ '. Thats gone all quiet on that front, hasn't it, perhaps the remotest thoughts of re-opening the Portishead line using the Class 230 is getting too close to having to spend WECA money with the 1000's of Portishead people jumping up and down saying yes, yes, yes, we'll have it is getting too close for the comfort of TB.
A subject that reared its ugly head was cross boarder public transport, buses. It was mentioned that if a bus service which uses infrastructure provided solely for a metrobus type service crosses the border, even for a distance of less than 100 metres say, the authority into whose territory the service briefly traverses will have to give permission for the service to operate as the metrobus type service may extract revenue from a service supported by that authority. Knocking North Somerset Parish Council (NSPC) here.
From my observations of yesterdays meeting and previous encounters Tim Bowles and Marvin Rees (he was not there yesterday) seem to be in cahoots with each other even though they are of opposing political entities and both have their eyes on re-election times. Tim Bowles likes to stand in front of cameras to have his piccy took like the recent piccy standing at the roadside at Bences Garage on the A37 where road improvements have recently been completed probably under the complete direction of BaNES UA with not one word of input from TB or one penny of WECA's money. The improvements at the AZTEC roundabout the same, directed by S Glos UA with both schemes probably partly funded, due to them being A roads, by Central Government (
DfT» ), but TB is in the piccy.
Evidence of the unease being felt by the 3 UA's forming WECA and the NSPC was the number of statements submitted by elected councillors from these other bodies and believe me a couple of them didn't mince their words. I also submitted a statement of which I will post on this thread together with my prepared speech although in reality I did precis my speech a bit as I wished to save my breath as I distinctly felt my words were falling on deaf ears.
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