Lib Dems Call for Clarity on Transport Plans (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems Call for Clarity on Transport Plans

March 20, 2009 7:19 PM

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have called on the County Council to explain to the public, in a short and simple publication, the benefits that would flow from its Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) proposals. Everyone understands that these include, as a requirement for Government funding, a congestion charge for Cambridge. What is less well understood is that the TIF proposal would bring £465m of Government funding for vital improvements to sustainable transport in Cambridge and the sub-region. These include a massive improvement in bus services, the introduction of quiet low-emission hybrid electric buses, 11,000 additional spaces at Park & Ride sites, and £65m of improvements for cyclists and pedestrians.

Alex Reid, Liberal Democrat Spoke for Environment & Transport at Cambridgeshire County Council, said:

'The County Council has published on its website its 2007 Outline Proposal to the Transport Innovation Fund. But that document is seriously out of date, because much further work on public transport improvements has been done for the Joint Transport Forum. Also the 'Outline' Proposal is 156 pages long. Who will plough through that?

In order to have a properly informed public debate on the TIF proposal, it is essential that the County Council publishes promptly a short simple document which spells out the ways in which this £465m of Government money would be spent, and the benefits that would flow from it'.