Meeting on ‘Active Travel’ Corridor
Vocal opponents to the “Quietways” avoiding the A629 Halifax Road are circulating a great many half-truths and misinformation. A meeting with Kirklees Council planners has been called by opponents of this green corridor on Thursday 3rd March at 18.00 at Gledholt Church (on the roundabout just below the Ambulance station in Marsh). Interested KCC members should attend, particularly from north Huddersfield.
This meeting has been advertised on the community Facebook site for Marsh, Gledholt and Lindley. Local people are not being given a full picture of the advantages of an Active Travel corridor. It is evident that parts of the proposed plan will not achieve its objective, so KCC is not in favour of its implementation in its present form, but we support the reallocation of road space to encourage walking and cycling and to improve road safety.
Kirklees Council does not seem to be aware that a lack of genuine consultation methods has allowed this situation to develop. At the very beginning, as a preliminary planning stage, it ought to have devised workshops with local people to develop ideas as to how their streets and environment could be a better place to live and work. If this had happened I do not think that we would be where we are now.
There are many good reasons to promote Active Travel, not least of all because of the need for us all to reduce our reliance on carbon, as well as for our own personal exercise and helping us to live healthier and happier for longer.
Making our residential streets a place where everyone – young and old – can get to work, local shops, services, schools, stations and parks, without feeling that they have to use the car to get there. The A629 Phase 4 was an opportunity to start the process towards achieving this, but opposition to current plans are threatening to scupper any plans at all.