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Roads Service told: 'Wise up on Westlink'

As a second public inquiry begins into the £60m scheme to expand the M1 and Westlink [1], Friends of the Earth is telling Government to 'get real', accept the road is unaffordable and instead introduce freight priority measures and decent public transport alternatives. The pressure group set out the case against the road:

• The Department for Regional Development has neither the finance nor all the statutory permissions required to proceed.
• Construction will not begin before 2004.
• There will be traffic mayhem during the three year construction phase.
• Traffic experts are warning that the new road space will jam up again within fifteen years, representing poor value for money.
• Roads Service estimate that the number of vehicles wishing to use the stretch of road in question is twice the capacity of the current road, and suggest that 4 or 5 lanes would be needed in each direction to satisfy this demand, however they plan only 3.
• Despite having been on the cards for many years, the road has never been built and may never be.

Lisa Fagan, Transport Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said it was time for Roads Service to 'wise up on the Westlink':

"Roads Service ought to abandon their extravagant pipedream in favour of a realistic and affordable solution, one which can satisfy the business and environmental lobbies: freight priority measures and decent public transport alternatives. Friends of the Earth will be presenting its 'Freight First' proposal to this week's inquiry [2]. Our low-cost scheme would see a freight lane and priority traffic signals introduced on the existing road. Indeed, the Port of Belfast and Inquiry Inspector have already indicated their support for a freight lane [3]. Roads Service should return from Cloud Cuckoo Land and weigh in behind it too."

Notes

[1] (back) A second public inquiry into the proposed expansion of the M1 and Westlink begins on Tuesday 26 November 2002 at the Spires Centre, Fisherwick Place, Belfast. The first inquiry in November and December 2000 examined the Environmental Statement, while this one deals with the Designation Order.

[2] (back) Friends of the Earth's 'Freight First' proposal would see one lane in each direction dedicated to HGVs and buses at the busiest times of day, together with the introduction of priority signals to allow HGVs and buses to achieve a head start on other traffic.

[3] (back) The Inquiry Inspector indicated his support for a freight-only lane following the first public inquiry and the Port of Belfast, while supporting the Roads Service scheme, is calling for the new road space to be dedicated to freight vehicles.