Action Briefing Apr 2003 - May 2003
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

West Midlands News

Moving Slowly Forward in Hereford

Herefordshire FoE have long been campaigning against a north-south bypass of Hereford City, expending a great deal of positive energy just to prove that the city's traffic problems are of its own making. With a local multi modal study recently being commissioned, it would appear that some progress is being made at last.

Hereford FoE welcomed the release of the Hereford Transport Review, a study which confirmed that Hereford¦s congestion is self-imposed (through traffic amounts to only 10% of traffic in the city). However, the study does not foresee cycle trips increasing beyond 1980s levels, around 6%, even though Hereford's periphery is a pleasant walking and cycling distance from the city centre.

The study shows that already over a fifth of trips during the pm peak are made on foot. Even with its underplaying of the contribution cycling could make in Hereford, the study still concludes that extra road building would be costly and unnecessary.

Transport Campaigner Paige Mitchell, who was on the study steering group said:

“The study tells the people of Hereford, and the county’s politicians, that congestion busting starts at home. We could quite literally walk and cycle away from the problem. We would get an immediate improvement in traffic flows and the city environment. All we need is for the Council to be bolder in its planning for city-friendly traffic and for employers to recognise that supporting walking and cycling is in their interest. . .Cutting society’s dependence on oil, and Herefords dependence on the car, should be an urgent priority.”

Chris Crean