Plaid Cymru favour two routes not three

Delaying the M4 Relief Road would condemn the people of south Wales to years of traffic misery and Newport people to increased pollution.

As former Chairman of Gwent County Council Transport Committee I dread the return of the miseries of the 50s and 60s.  Then, there were two major bottlenecks on the route from Fishguard to London.  One was the Port Talbot Level Crossing and the other the Newport Town Bridge. Both caused hours of delays and blighted local and South Wales prosperity. The Brynglas Tunnels is now one of the UK motorway's major congestion points. It costs commerce and private individuals a fortune and intense frustration sitting in the daily jams. The smallest accident forces traffic off the M4 and imposes hours of gridlock on the city as the urban streets are jammed. Without a M4 relief road access to traffic from all along the South Wales coast will be severely restricted, discouraging commercial and leisure developments. 

Air pollution is already a formidable problem in the city. It has been estimated that traffic pollution in London causes an annual increase in deaths of 9,000. The figure for Newport is 72. The Blue route would increases and concentrate pollution in the centres of population. The black route would disperse it widely. Piling additional traffic on the city's distributor road of the SDR will destroy its purpose and vastly increase traffic jams on internal non-motorway roads even at off-peak time. The SDR has fulfilled its function to free-up city traffic. The blue route will wreck that.

The money is now available. If work is delayed, future austerity cuts could see it disappear and the Relief Road would be delayed indefinitely. 

The time for quibbling is over. Only the black route will provide three routes through Newport. The Blue Route means two routes only that would cram motorway traffic on to Newport’s distributor road, greatly increasing traffic jams and pollution in every part of the city.

The Metro solution is desirable and might help to a marginal extent in cutting local traffic. But it will not reduce through traffic at all and is no alternative. 

Plaid Cymru, out to curry favour with their North Wales supporters, is playing a cynical opportunist political game. They are putting their own party interests before what is best for Wales. 

Comments

[Gareth Clubb]

Here's the url for another few articles (penned in 2014) that dismantle some of the contentions you've put forward Paul https://naturiaethwr.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/traffordd-yr-m4-casnewydd-ii/
https://naturiaethwr.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/traffordd-yr-m4-casnewydd-iii/

[Cai Larsen]

Mae'n ddrwg gen i Paul - ond dydi hi ddim yn dderbyniol i'r holl arian cyfalaf sydd ar gael yng Nghymru i gael ei wario yn, neu wrth eich etholaeth.

[Gareth]

A stream of assertions. Paul, I know you base your views on evidence and urge you to read this article (I can't put the url on your site but look for "llond drol o gelwyddau" on naturiaethwr.wordpress.com)