Members of the Beeston Community Forum group have been raising the profile of their campaign against council plans for a park and ride facility off Elland Road.The forum had a stall at Saturday’s Beeston Festival and were handing out fliers raising awareness of the proposals which they claim are ‘half baked’ and will lead to increased traffic congestion and pollution.
South Leeds Life chatted to forum secretary Robert Winfield who told us that forum members feel that the park and ride would be too close to the city centre to make the bus section effective and that it would be more of a ‘park and walk’ scheme rather than ‘park and ride’. There’s also talk of getting a petition up against the proposals.
The council says park and rides are a way of tackling traffic congestion in the city centre. A recent report to the council’s executive board said the park and ride schemes are essential to cope with increased commuter traffic generated by new developments which are expected to open as Leeds recovers from the recession. The number of jobs in the city centre is predicted to rise by up to 23,000 by 2026, generating an estimated 10,000 additional peak-time morning and evening commuting trips.
Check out more of the forum’s concerns in their flyer below:
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