Unsurprisingly, suggestions that the Welsh Government might implement junction closures as one way of addressing congestion on the M4 at Newport has received a degree of pushback.
The South Wales Argus, which carried the interview with transport minister Mark Hooper in which he declined to take the option “off the table”, now reports:
A petition urging ministers to keep motorway junctions around Newport open has gained huge momentum in recent days.
The petition, started by Newport Labour, has received more than 2,600 signatures since it started, with thousands of Newport residents sharing their support for the campaign.
The position of Newport Labour party is interesting, given that it was the previous, Labour-led, Welsh Government that took the idea of relief road “off the table”, where it remains.
The Argus reports the local party as saying that “all options that serve the city positively. Rail, roads, public transport, active travel” should be in the mix, “including a relief road, which Newport Labour has always supported”.
In the meantime, Hooper has met Lord Burns, head of the 2020 South East Wales transport commission, “to share views on the future direction of transport policy and investment across Wales”.
Top of the agenda was looking at the progress being made to implement the recommendations of the Burns Review – tackling vehicle congestion on the M4 and building new rail infrastructure.
The Burns review recommended a package of 58 measures aimed at creating a network of alternatives around Newport, including the building of 6 new stations, 23 miles of new rapid bus lanes and 20 miles of new cycle lanes, alongside improved rail services, enhanced bus networks and better integration between transport modes.
The work aims to provide alternatives to journeys on the M4 and encourage greater use of public transport and active travel across the region.
I think the message is that this would help, if someone bothered to do it.
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