Action Briefing Aug 2003- Sept 2003
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

West Midlands News

Where's the Multi in Multi-Modal Study..?

This was the question we posed to consultants and journalists as the recommendations from the West Midlands to East Midlands Multi-Modal Study were produced on 28th July in Derby. It has taken two years, a large consultancy fee and plenty of meetings to announce that there will be no rail investment between the two regions, that the A38 and M42 both need to be widened and a raft of other road schemes brought in, including a new road bridge across the river Trent at Burton.

There can't be a level playing field between road and rail while rail has to pick up a number of its costs up front but road shirks the consequences of its own expansion, such as increased urban congestion. Fortunately, this is not the end of the process and it is now up to both Regional Planning Bodies to examine the recommendations before they make their submission to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, who will then make the final decision on what funding is to be made available.

WM Friends of the Earth will be campaigning hard to make sure that some degree of balance and an element of the 'multi' is reintroduced to this most un-multi of Multi Modal Studies.Text

Chris Crean