MEDIA RELEASE
BCP and Dorset Motorists Group score a victory with BCP Council
Tuesday 3 June saw the BCP and Dorset Motorists group petition being read out to the full BCP Council and subsequently debated. This was a significant victory as we needed more than 2000 signatures to force the Council to hear our petition at a full Council meeting.
Many councillors indicated that they agreed with the overall sentiment of the petition, in that motorists’ interests and requirements are being overlooked whilst those of the very small minority cyclists are being prioritised by this council.
After an hour of discussion, the council voted to pass the contents of the petition to the Local Transport Plan 4 which is run by the same group of councillors who created much of the havoc and congestion in the first place. The Motorists Group has little faith in that process and it is more likely that our petition will be carefully parked in the long grass and ignored. Not only ignored but consistently rejected by this active travel focused council. Which of course follows their mantra of declaring a climate emergency as their first action on becoming BCP council.
Increasingly the public are beginning to realise that terms such as ‘Climate Emergency’ ‘Net Zero 2050’ and ‘Active Travel’ are wasting peoples’ time and money in the UK and will have no effect on the world’s climate.
The size and number of people who signed a petition has raised the whole issue amongst not only the council but the wider public so that increasingly we are gaining support and our ultimate aim is to make sure that needs and requirements of motorists is considered proportionate with our use of the road network. Many say there is no ‘War on Motorists’ however many people think that that is just not true and that there is little short of a war on Motorists by BCP Council.
Our Petition
As local residents and motorists we are both very concerned and apprehensive about the current transport and infrastructure policies being implemented by BCP council. This petition is to highlight our lack of confidence in the management of our local roads by BCP Council. We call on BCP Council to review their current local transport strategy and ensure in future that it is proportionate for all residents and not just those that support Active Travel.
Currently, local residents and businesses are suffering excessive delay, disruption and inconvenience caused by the poor planning and management of our local roads by BCP Council. The construction of extremely expensive and obviously under-utilised cycle paths, along with a huge numbers of local Roadworks , all being carried out at the same time with minimal co-ordination by BCP Council are real and major issues. As a result the quality of local residents lives are being severely and adversely impacted. Accessibility for the less mobile and elderly , who for them the car is their only option. is also significantly reduced. The repercussions of these BCP policies fail to deliver the expectations and needs of our local community. It's not just about congested streets and increased drive times, It’s not just about more carbon emissions rather than less, it's about how these BCP policies are impacting the safety, environment and overall quality of life in our region. As stated by the UK Department for Transport, each year we are seeing an increase in road traffic in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) area compared to the national average. This indicates that the existing policies are not mitigating transport issues and need to be reevaluated. Moreover, critical decisions affecting thousands of motorists and residents appear to lack the inclusivity and transparency that's required. We feel our voices and concerns are ignored. Therefore, we call for the BCP council to reevaluate current transport policies and provide a transparent, inclusive decision-making process and develop a partnership with all local road users not just those of Active Travel. Help us champion the cause of improved infrastructural planning and strategies by signing this petition.