Actions do not match

tim — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:55:15 +0000

Those behind the demand for a third runway and a sixth terminal stress the jobs that would be created, but what really motivates them is the profits that they foresee.

That might be bearable but for the severe effects that the development will have on the environment and on the lives of the people living in the region of the airport.

Pressing ahead with expansion puts the government in a difficult position, given its frequent verbal commitments to combating climate change.

Unfortunately, its actions do not match what it says.

The government claims that the planned development meets noise and air quality targets, but it discounts the reality that the entire village of Sipson, with about 700 homes, would be utterly destroyed.

Nor will that be the end of the matter.

An expanded Heathrow, with a new runway and increased passenger numbers, will put greater strain on the already existing M4 and M25 motorways that serve the airport.

It is inevitable that the roads lobby will already be preparing the case to expand these motorways or to create another, leading to the further concreting over of another part of the overcrowded south-east of England.

The government ought to reject the short-sighted short-termism of the motorway and airline lobbies.

It should expand and modernise the environmentally friendly railways, with exclusive high-speed tracks to obviate the need for short-haul flights and take a conscious decision to drive down rail prices to encourage passengers to switch their means of travel.

Tube chaos

Tory Mayor Boris Johnson owes an apology to all London Underground staff who suffered physical and verbal assault at the weekend.

He should also apologise to all citizens in the capital for the chaos to which their Tube system was reduced by a minority of anti-social elements who took advantage of the mayor’s political stunt.

What happened on Saturday night should not have surprised anyone.

It was the logical result of too much drink taken in the midst of crowds too big to control by Tube staff and police.

Rail union RMT leader Bob Crow had already pointed out the impossible task handed to staff of carrying out the mayor’s unthought-through plan to ban alcohol on public transport.

The main problem for staff is not someone who opens up a can of beer or who sips from a hip flask on a Tube.

Problems arise when people roll into stations already steaming, after hours spent in pubs or City clubs, and look to have a go at staff carrying out their duties.

The mayor’s “Look how tough I am on yobs” gimmick is useless in tackling the anti-social behaviour witnessed on Saturday night and the similar misconduct that public transport staff suffer every other night of the year.

Instead of blurting out the first thing that comes into his head, he, like government ministers, would be far better served listening to the people who are at the sharp end of this problem.

Bob Crow | ukwatch.net

Actions do not match