Big blow for the lunies
Discussion
Looks like Alistair Darling is only halfwitted not completely off his trolley. The totally unjustifiable extension to the daft tram system which killed Manchester city centre as a shopping environment (the upside is tis a great place for bars now 
) has been scrapped on account of the entire tram system is totally bankrupt and needs massive subsidies to keep going despite the huge fares. (this of course flies in the face of city council propaganda which as late as last week was claiming the tram system is a succcess) The £540M extension was on target to ruin other town centres and increase turnover at the Trafford centre over the next ten years. The additional congestion caused by this particular piece of utterly cretinous ill thought out lunacy will obviously have to be replaced with additional speed humps and pedestrian zones in essential areas such a Longsight in order to perpetuate the myth that the car is not working and building more roads is pointless.
When it was built the tram system all but Bankrupted the cities retail industry and led to a huge rise in tinkers vagrants and skulking loafers hanging around the centre flogging stolen goods. This was driven by market forces as no one with a car could actually get to the shops anymore and for 3 years only the unemployed, the insane and public sector workers actually entered the city.
The leader of Stockport Borough council is allegedly very upset as this also puts paid to phase 3 which would have seen trams in Mersy square once more and a complete blockade of the A6, the main trunk road travelling north south through Great (Mediocre) Britain.
Rejoice, this is a grat day for common sense and fair play to Mr Darling for making the right decision. The Manchester evening news reports heated low level meetings with Manchester City backward thinking sandalists and Mr Darling. I so hope he is nice to them.
) has been scrapped on account of the entire tram system is totally bankrupt and needs massive subsidies to keep going despite the huge fares. (this of course flies in the face of city council propaganda which as late as last week was claiming the tram system is a succcess) The £540M extension was on target to ruin other town centres and increase turnover at the Trafford centre over the next ten years. The additional congestion caused by this particular piece of utterly cretinous ill thought out lunacy will obviously have to be replaced with additional speed humps and pedestrian zones in essential areas such a Longsight in order to perpetuate the myth that the car is not working and building more roads is pointless. When it was built the tram system all but Bankrupted the cities retail industry and led to a huge rise in tinkers vagrants and skulking loafers hanging around the centre flogging stolen goods. This was driven by market forces as no one with a car could actually get to the shops anymore and for 3 years only the unemployed, the insane and public sector workers actually entered the city.
The leader of Stockport Borough council is allegedly very upset as this also puts paid to phase 3 which would have seen trams in Mersy square once more and a complete blockade of the A6, the main trunk road travelling north south through Great (Mediocre) Britain.
Rejoice, this is a grat day for common sense and fair play to Mr Darling for making the right decision. The Manchester evening news reports heated low level meetings with Manchester City backward thinking sandalists and Mr Darling. I so hope he is nice to them.
It's a shame they took so long to bin it. If they had acted sooner then maybe Rochdale Council may not have (further) decimated the town centre by making compulsory purchases of long standing retail properties along the main street. This has now rendered Rochdale the home of the pound shop and it's once main shopping street a favourite amongst vomiting drunks and dossers.
However no one has actually seen the light have they?
At the same time as pulling the purse strings in Manchester they're now announcing the glorious of a tram innitiative in Liverpool!
I am lost for words.
(Oh and don't be so hasty to blame lentilists. It's just the same old self-serving council sh
ts looking to further their own careers and line their pockets.)
>> Edited by bobfrance on Thursday 29th July 23:15
However no one has actually seen the light have they?
At the same time as pulling the purse strings in Manchester they're now announcing the glorious of a tram innitiative in Liverpool!
I am lost for words.
(Oh and don't be so hasty to blame lentilists. It's just the same old self-serving council sh
ts looking to further their own careers and line their pockets.) >> Edited by bobfrance on Thursday 29th July 23:15
[rant on]
I have to use the damn thing to get to work every morning, it's so dismally bad I would dearly love to see it fail. Now why exactly should it take an hour and a half to get from Prestwich to Salford? My flight to bloody Amsterdam took half that! Despite this they've just put the prices UP again, and increased checks by the ticket inspector politburo. They come in plain clothes now it seems.
Sadly it won't effect them in any way, there's plenty more that should create an outcry to shut them down, but they always get away with it, they are a big part of the local mutual backscratching society and no-one wants to rock our happy boat, now do we?
Also I know the person who does all the PR work for Metrolink, and believe me, she really is THAT good.
[/rant off]
I have to use the damn thing to get to work every morning, it's so dismally bad I would dearly love to see it fail. Now why exactly should it take an hour and a half to get from Prestwich to Salford? My flight to bloody Amsterdam took half that! Despite this they've just put the prices UP again, and increased checks by the ticket inspector politburo. They come in plain clothes now it seems.
Sadly it won't effect them in any way, there's plenty more that should create an outcry to shut them down, but they always get away with it, they are a big part of the local mutual backscratching society and no-one wants to rock our happy boat, now do we?
Also I know the person who does all the PR work for Metrolink, and believe me, she really is THAT good. [/rant off]
Fair comments - but doesn't this tend to fly in the face of the governent's policy of trying to encourage people to use public transport instead of their own cars? Hardly backing up what they preach then. Never mind, just triple my road tax, add VAT onto everything, and why not multiply my council tax by a factor of 6 and blow it all by bombing Iraq?
Given my recent experiences of taking a train from West Yorks to Blackpool to collect the TVR, it will be a very long time before I venture onto a train again. The seats were filthy and held together with duct tape. There were empty cans of Special Brew rolling around - and dare I say it, most of the passengers looked like they were on a kebab afficionado's day out to the seaside from Strangeways. Long live the car!!
Given my recent experiences of taking a train from West Yorks to Blackpool to collect the TVR, it will be a very long time before I venture onto a train again. The seats were filthy and held together with duct tape. There were empty cans of Special Brew rolling around - and dare I say it, most of the passengers looked like they were on a kebab afficionado's day out to the seaside from Strangeways. Long live the car!!
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