I agree that what is needed in Shrewsbury with its narrow streets is not big, expensive infrastructure like a NWRR or a tram, but a combination of lots of small, smart and cheap policies to encourage us out of our cars.

We would all walk and cycle more if the council made this safer with increased pedestrian crossings and further investment in cycle paths and cycle courses for novices.

Using the buses would be more popular if they were cheaper.

And the council could fulfil its targets on prioritising climate change and clean air quality by investing money in helping bus companies convert their fleets to less polluting vehicles and fitting all buses with “Continuously Regenerating Particulate Traps” (CRTs) in their exhaust systems to reduce particulate emissions.

In these times when money is in short supply, it is vital that we spend it wisely on things which will raise the quality of life here and make our town’s transport system sustainable and able to deal with peak oil.

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Some thoughts:

Use environmentaly friendlier minibuses instead of almost empty full size buses which discharge plumes of black smoke – fully agree with Huw’s comments regarding CRPT’s.

Make sure that where on street parking is allowed that the carriageway is wide enough to allow two cars to pass.

Limit delivery times for Heavy Goods Vehicles on Wyle Cop and High Street to outside of shopping hours.

Create additional car parking within river loop, a lot of congestion is caused by people driving round in circles looking for somewhere to park.

Stop planning consent for new apartment and housing projects within the town centre that do not have at least two car parking spaces per house – I speak from experience, living in an apartment within the river loop where each of my neighbours has two cars per household and only one parking space….

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Shrewsbury was and still is big enough for horse and cart’s all traffic except delivery vehicles
and buses every 10 min’s should be banned

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Dr Winchester said in his letter, ‘I’d love it if green-minded people would be more realistic in suggesting solutions publicly.’

Surely, though, suggesting solutions publicly and generating discussion and debate are the very essence of democracy.

Public discussion allows different visions of the future to compete in a public forum, and this is unequivocally beneficial to us all.

We may agree that trams are not the way forward, but surely Dr Winchester must recognise that Mansell Williams has started a very valuable public discussion with his idea.

And surely Mr Williams is right -and realistic- to say that a shift from private to public transport is vital.

If not, then how will we fulfil our climate obligations and keep our country and economy moving when peak oil finally hits us, as it inevitable will at some stage?

There is a story in today’s Independent newspaper about a suburb of the German city of Freiburg, called Vauban, where kids play freely and safely in parks next to their homes, where cars are kept at a distance, trams take people into central Freiburg, houses are eco-friendly, and green energy is sold back by residents to the grid.

I would imagine that Vauban is the sort of place where green-minded people value democracy, discuss and debate solutions openly, recognise that their view is one of many, but feel -even so- that they have something valuable to contribute.

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Before Dr Winchester and others are so quick to put down trams as being “unrealistic”, they should visit some of the many smaller towns in continental Europe which have them and find them extremely beneficial. Why is Britain such a land of knockers who pour cold water on every good idea?

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Cllr Winchester seems to have missed the point that the proposed tram network would use the existing rail lines into town and there would therefore be no need to “have to close every major access road into the town centre”. Using the existing rail lines and unused platforms 1 & 2 at the train station for suburban services/park and ride seems like a reasonable idea to be explored to me.

If he is going to comment on the proposals, he should at least have an understanding of what is being proposed.

As has already been pointed out, several towns the size of Shrewsbury in countries like Germany have very successful tram systems.

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Oh. And I can attest that Freiburg is a deliciously agreeable town to visit and – indeed – drive through! Indeed, that whole area of Southern Germany near Lake Konstanz is a joy to drive through. Recommended.

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