Shropshire Star

Letter: Roadworks on the A5 just one of planned disruptions

The Highways Agency has promised a summer of delays on the A5 at Shrewsbury as traffic lights are installed on a roundabout at a cost of £4 million.

Published

Is this organisation incapable of learning that lights cause hold-ups? Traffic has to stop on red irrespective of the need. At least a roundabout allows traffic to feed through when it is safe to do so.

The danger and delays at the Dobbies roundabout caused by lights and poor lane layout is an example that should educate the planners.

A number of disruptive projects are currently being promoted by the Government and its supporting agencies. An example is HS2 which will damage a large swathe of countryside and have an enormous cost.

At best it will slightly shorten journey times between certain cities. It would be much more sensible to improve the national rail network to somewhere near what it used to be before the Government dismantled it in 1965.

Another example is the proposed pylon to run through Shropshire which will damage the scenery and the outlook of many properties.

A more sensible approach would be to lower electricity consumption by reducing waste and stopping the massive and uncontrolled population increase.

Electricity can be routed underground as a better but more expensive alternative where such transmission is required. The increasing electricity consumption is not sustainable in the long term.

Another example is fracking which will potentially cause earth tremors, aquifer pollution, altering the water table, noise disturbance, increase of heavy vehicles and fire risk. The reliance on burning fuel is unsustainable in the long term. Reduction in consumption and turning to renewable energy is the only sensible alternative.

These are a few of many examples displaying bad judgment. This may be contrasted with good government advised through the Bible in which, wisdom, justice and equity are the guiding principles.

Peter Keen, Oswestry

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