Traffic and parking

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Despite all the money being spent on Leeds train station it is still inaccessible both for those travelling by car or bus. The drop-off point is ridiculously small and always congested, there are no bus stops in the immediate area of the station. There is no bus that runs from roundhay/oakwood to the station, so I always have to get a taxi when I travel by train. In Bristol for eg buses pull up outside the station and there is level access. There is no train route from north leeds into the city, which is a significant gap.

In the article by Morland Sanders it was interesting to note that there was little (no?) sign of any buses on the roads during the filming of the various journeys in the rush hour. Look at any other major city- London, Rome for eg and there will be nose to tail buses in the rush hour, I travelled by bus this afternoon and it was a grim journey. The vehicle was old, dirty and tatty and lurched and jolted all of the five miles. One elderly lady was thrown into her seat as we set off.Why is it that 40 million pounds can be spent on the infrastructure for the tram, but Metro is still running old dirty poorly maintained buses? Whilst they continue to do this, more and more people will travel by car or even by taxi.
S Biggins, Leeds

You were asking for the views of Leeds residents following the showing of the report on TV about congestion in and around Leeds. There is only one solution and that is to stop all development right now. The roads in and around Leeds can't get any wider and there is no land left for car parks, it has all been built on, so what is the point of this continuing madness of develop develop develop? There is little point in creating thousands of jobs when no-one will be able to get into the city to work at these jobs anyway. The situation is as bad if not worse in all the outlying districts, development after development and again nowhere to park. People moving to outlying areas can't get registered for health and dental care as all practices are full as are the schools. One local area council is advising parents to apply to all the schools in the area in the faint hope of getting a place in one of them and yet week after week Leeds council is giving planning permission for hundreds!

More houses and flats where on earth do these people think the future residents of these dwellings are going to go for health and dental care and education for their families? The traffic situation is worse in the outlying areas as the roads are even narrower as many of these areas were no more than small villages and Mill towns until they were swallowed up by Leeds in the 70's. It is not surprising that potential investors in the city are looking elsewhere to invest because they are far sighted enough to see that the future situation is impossible,if only the powers that be were as far sighted as them. R. Fearnley, Leeds

After watching the informative program tonight it makes interesting but predictable reading. here in my opinion to solve traffic congestion not only in Leeds but the uk as well. this may seem controversial but here are. the UK is overcrowded and the only way to in the very long term is to keep the population down by birth control. more people more traffic more congestion. Andrew, Leeds

I think the only alternative now is to improve our bus routes & buses also create several park & rides around Leeds (with security) like York & also get more rolling stock on the rails. But trying to get people out of their cars is going to be now a very difficult job indeed. Car sharing in many cases is just plain daft we all have different places to go & not always at the same time! so thats just not practical. I also think that lorries should have restricted times for deliveries! very very early in the morning should be used to deliver food etc to help stagger the congestion then we might be getting somewhere !! Maybe some employers should stagger people's hours too. Chris Tetley, Wakefield... but my wife works in Leeds

Their are a number of issues relating to this subject.
1. Stop the massive building of houses on the outskirts of Leeds, this has now got out of hand and one of the main causes of congestion due to the amount of people trying to enter the City.

2. Lower public transport fares to encourage people to use public transport. Provide a service which runs on time and has the capacity to transport people into the city.

3. Stop closing roads and making these so called ring roads, i and many others had no problem with driving into and around Leeds city. But they have close all the small roads, made most of the system one way. How can people manage to get around a place if it is being squeezed so tight, eventually the whole thing closes and movement stops. Come on get rid of these so called traffic planners and get a human being with a brain in to get the job done. Peter, Guiseley, Leeds

Having travelled by road from Hull to Leeds since 1992 I can vouch for the significant rise in congestion. Worst day was this morning when a door to door journey that can take 65-75 minutes took 110 instead. An excellent solution is seen only some 30 miles away in York. Where are the park and ride schemes? Why is there a large piece of waste land up by the M62/M1 interchange that hasn't been used for parking (or seemingly anything else) with a quick bus service in from there. There must be other sites provided there is the political will. An investment in some tarmac and an approach road would have cost far less than £40(m) and would have achieved something. Steve, Hull

Is there any scope in using the canals in the city for public transport? Fran, Harrogate

Myself, and many of my friends would like to see a park & ride service available for use in and around Leeds. The one in York works very well. Why has this not been considered I wonder?
Having just watched your bit about travelling into Leeds. I though i would add that the problem of travelling into Leeds is not only for pure commuters. We live in Rastrick, Brighouse, and until the end of the month we will have the pleasure of the direct bus M62 into Leeds. However this bus is being pulled by WYMetro - due to underuse. They say that not enough people use and and no one uses it at night - they recently extended the service. However WYMetro never really published these timetable and promoted it as a quick, easy and cheap way of getting back from Leeds So much for a great transport service. Victoria Lloyd

I use the bus and rail network everyday and i wish more people would - but if the companies that run these service don't promote these services what chance do we have? Rachel, Rastrick - Brighouse

The answer to your tonight's question on Leeds' gridlock is that there would be no grid lock in Leeds had the socialist council listened to Bert Mather - Champion of Black Beer and Trams - 50 years ago, but hey who wants to listen to an old man (that's me - not Bert - he's perpetually young - now)... Martin Coultas

Reference tonight's programme. I would like to make the following points:
1.Why has the Leeds outer ring road never been finished? If you drive along it you can see where the land was bought for 4 lanes and only 2 lanes ever completed e.g.Rodley to Horsforth.
2. Super tram was never going to serve all Leeds and never the right areas.
3.£40m pounds could have been spent on the existing roads, junctions and more multi storey parking.
4.Bradford is not experiencing the traffic problems Leeds is, that's because it's dying and no amount of investment is going to save it. We should be grateful that people want to come to work and play in Leeds.
5.Take a look at the 2 plus lane in Armley and the "rat" runs it has created. Another failure despite reports.
6.When will government and its mollycoddled employees realise that people aspire to their own transport and do not wish to share delayed and late buses and trains, at exorbitant costs. Give us more roads not less. Chris, Pudsey, Leeds

I just heard Kieran Preston on the show saying that some of the money to the transport issue had gone in to the Station (which was late finishing!), and the railways were the way forward. This is a touchy subject after the government has rejected the supertram - which was, in my opinion, due to central government and London looking after London and no-one else. If Mr Preston is going to talk about the trains being the way forward by adding more carriages, I think he needs to redo his sums. We are talking about physical railway lines here, that can only go to certain places. More lines would have to be laid - which probably isn't practical. The only thing that could be done is to re-open and/or create more stations and have more (yes more!) trains running at regular intervals. PLUS, expresses stopping at major commuter stations. For example I am from Mirfield (but live in Leeds) which is not a staffed station therefore no expresses stop there because of that reason. But when the local train stops there the majority of the train gets off because it is a big commuter village. If expresses stopped there then people would (I'm sure) be more inclined to actually get the train.

Another example of this is Methley (near Castleford) where this is a similar case but there is no station, although the line runs through the centre of the village. The buses are pretty appalling and if this station was opened, and trains were regular, it would be a huge benefit to this community and there would have to be less buses adding to the congestion. I'm very sure this is the case in many commuter villages.It's not easy but those are my thoughts. Daniel Whalley, Leeds

I have just watched your programme with great interest. I commute to Leeds everyday from Brighouse. From the end of the this month First Buses are withdrawing the service I use (route M62)from Illingworth, Halifax to Leeds. This will cause me great inconvenience, and may well mean that I have to use my car in future. I have written to Metro and to Calderdale Council, but with no result. With so many new jobs being created in Leeds this hardly seems a positive step forward. Nigel Hull, Brighouse

I have been following the Leeds tram scheme since i was young and hoped it would come to fruition. I can't believe how short sighted the government and local council are! Alistair Darling claimed it wasn't value for money, well it will cost more to leave the situation unsolved but with lives lost in traffic accidents and the loss of jobs from business closing and moving. i also e-mailed METRO and asked if they would look at park and ride schemes in south Leeds I live in morley and at cottingley station in churwell they are building a new village. I asked if they were going to build a park and ride at the rail station, but i was told that while there is a need they weren't going to do it! I can't believe a city growing so fast can't even employ a forward thinking transport service! i am utterly disgusted at their narrow mindedness and that of Alistair Darling who clearly doesn't understand the needs of the population outside the Watford Gap! Steven Livingstone, Leeds

The solutions Leeds city council needs to take is simple! Rather than flash, costly yet poor solutions like trams, Sheffield has hardly improved flow as a result! The simple answer is "Make the buses and trains into Leeds free in the week! Buses are already subsidised so go all the way and make them free. The car drivers can then be congestion charged and traffic levels can be regulated by the scale of charges. Have you any idea why such a simple solution has not been tested? Phil Hanson, Bradford

I travel on the M62 from Huddersfield into Leeds every day. The traffic during school term time is really bad between 0700 and 0930, and again between 1600 and 1830. During school holidays it's a slightly easier journey. When less HGVs are on the road, e.g. Xmas factory shutdown or on Friday mornings, it's much much better!! The answer? The Haulage companies need to get their heads together and work out a way of reducing HGV traffic during commuting rush hours. The alternative? Build larger lorry parks at service stations at junction 18 (Birch) for eastbound traffic and junction 33 (Ferrybridge) for westbound traffic, and hold the lorries there until the rush hour is over. It's the HGVs and service vans that are clogging the motorway system, not private vehicles. Dominic Owen, Huddersfield

Lack of affordable Parking Places are the reason for congestion.
Lack of affordable Parking Places are the reason for pollution.
Lack of affordable Parking Places is the reason so much fuel is burnt unnecessarily.

Most of the vehicles which cause the problems of traffic congestion are simply looking for Parking Places. If there was adequate affordable Parking Places most of the vehicles in the traffic queues would be out of the traffic stream, with their engines stopped, using zero fuel, and producing zero pollution. Other traffic would be able to move efficiently and effectively. Commuters would benefit, employers would benefit, retailers would benefit. Making a "better" road network will not relieve the problem unless there is an easy-to-find Parking Place at the end of each journey. This applies to all towns and cities, not just Leeds.
T M Parkin, Hull

After watching tonight's episode I would like to comment on the final question posed, "But is more action required to address Leeds' growing traffic problems?". I work in Leeds city centre, but live in Dewsbury, about 10 miles away. It should take around 20 minutes to get to work, and less than 10 years ago it did. Now it takes around 40 minutes if the traffic is good, over an hour in the middle of rush hour. I strongly believe that a "Park & Ride" would answer a lot of the problems which faces Leeds city centre. I park at a car park near Holbeck which offers a mini park and ride, and this is great as it mean the fee is slightly cheaper than the center parking and I don't have to fight my way through the congested center roads.

Typically the Central government is being selfish by taking our Supertram money and using it for the Capital which will not benefit Leeds what so ever. Maybe we should be given some of this money back to improve the congestion problems that we face ever day in 2006 not just in 10 years time. Mrs K Robinson,
Dewsbury.

I have just seen the film on transport in Leeds I think that there should be more transport in the Leeds area. David, Leeds

I found your article about traffic congestion in Leeds interesting. However it ignored the way in which the residents of Leeds can solve the problem of congestion themselves. When I moved to Leeds four months ago, I found a house within a few miles of where I work (central Leeds), got rid of my car and cycled to work. I often overtake about a mile of stationary traffic as I cycle into Leeds - so I'm glad that I chose to cycle. If the people of Leeds are worried about congestion on the roads the solution is in their hands. It is too easy to blame someone else, such as the local or national government. Robert, Meanwood, Leeds

Why not let bikes and scooters use bus lanes? This would encourage more two wheeled commuters.Also have a park and ride in both north and south of Leeds where people can park their cars and get a rapid no stop bus into town every few minutes 24 hours a day, and park the vehicle for "reasonable" amount. There is loads of stick but no carrot at all!!! Anon, Leeds

If it's possible, the answer is a subway. Leeds roads have always been bad. I recently moved back after 30 years of being away, but nothing has changed in terms of better transport system and roads. Sharon, Leeds

I go to Leeds with my wife 5 or 6 times a year, we park at Templar Street car park. We like to shop in the market and al the arcades in Leeds. We do not want to go to an out of town shopping centre. Bill Webster, Scarborough