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Metrolink Updates

9M views 58K replies 802 participants last post by  Ashtonian 
#1 ·
Seeing as the last thread seems to have gone here is another...

The following shows the madness of spending money on roads to relief congestion instead of trams...

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/166/166225_bumper_business_chokes_the_roads.html

Bumper business chokes the roads
Yakub Qureshi


JAMS: early morning traffic on the A57TAMESIDE has the biggest traffic growth in the country, figures reveal today.

A congestion blacklist published by the Department of Transport showed there were 36 per cent more cars and lorries on Tameside roads than in 1997 - the biggest increase in England.

Two other Greater Manchester areas, Oldham, in second place with 32.4 per cent, and Bury, 18 per cent, also recorded some of the sharpest rises in congestion. Tameside, Oldham and Bury were all above the national increase of 11 per cent.

Transport groups said the findings confirmed their worst fears about congestion in the region and blamed the delay of the Metrolink extension for increasing traffic jams.

Traffic bosses said they believed the bulk of the increase was due to the addition of the M60 Denton to Middleton extension, which had brought more traffic to area.

Coun Alan Whitehead, Tameside's executive member for technical services, said: "When there are good connections more people will want to use them. Regeneration has seen a lot firms moving into Tameside.

"People want to come to the great workshops of Manchester, and developments in places like Glossop, High Peak and Saddleworth means there will be additional traffic coming through Tameside."

Congestion

He believed the planned Metrolink extension, which was promised in the government's election manifesto, would help ease congestion.

Andrew Shaw, co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth Oldham, said: "There has definitely been an increase of traffic. The M60 has brought an associated increase in traffic throughout the borough and people are travelling more between their homes and work.

"The government is throwing a lot of money at the road network at the same time that it has reneged on its promise for the new Metrolink to Oldham and Tameside."

The Liberal Democrats, who requested the information, which dates from when Labour came into government, said motorists should be charged for driving into urban areas.

Tom Brake MP, the party's transport spokesman, claimed London-style congestion fees would cut traffic and fund better public transport.

He said: "John Prescott infamously remarked that if the government did not reduce road traffic it would have failed. These figures are the clearest indicator that it has failed."
 
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#19,714 ·
If so none of this typical MEN nonsense would happen.

PS Kurt, in the old 80/90s days of the northern editions of the Daily Mail and Express local (whisky sodden) journos used to "post" copy that would have a distinct non Mail/Express manner such as Unemployment's doing this and that. And then the sub editor would plonk a big Tory headline like "Dole scroungers VHS boom." which would swerve the tone of the article.
More hyperbole in the MEN to-day, no surprise there.

But also something else that makes me think they might be about to sign their own death warrant in any event . . .

As from Monday, 7.1.13 the MEN will split into two separate editions, North Manchester and South Manchester. I must say, on the scale of crass incompetence, this one takes the biscuit for marketing ineptitude. Presumably for those of us that live in the East and West of the county, an arbitrary decision will be made by the distributors in relation to which one we get! Not to mention those who live and/or work in the city centre.

But of course, the main point is that we all might want to know what’s going on everywhere in the conurbation, wherever we live. If the fools don’t realise this, they show a complete ignorance of their readership base, or of the fact that they are circulating in one of the most socially cohesive and philosophically integrated of all the metropolitan counties.

Aside from such things as local football banter, ‘ribbing’ or kidology etc., it’s surely not the case that the North and the South of GM regard each other as opposite towns or separate entities? On the contrary, the ‘Manc’ culture (for want of a better word) quite obviously permeates the whole area – even Frank Sidebottom came from Timperley. And of course this overall integrity of our particular conurbation is reflected on the ground in such transport projects as the Northern Hub, the Metrolink extensions and the Cross-city bus packages to come.

So at this rate I would forecast a massive drop in sales of the paper copies of the MEN this year. I am certainly not going to carry on paying 50p for half a paper, nor will I be paying £1 for both editions! (It will probably go up anyway.) Of course one answer will be for everyone to read it on the web, but then I feel sorry for the local newsagents who will lose out. I have always made a point of buying things like this from small businesses, and our local paper shop at Buxton Lane has become almost like a social club in the morning, lovely friendly people and everyone hanging about to have a chat & exchange gossip etc. At least their sales of The Guardian will increase a bit, which I will probably buy occasionally instead.

Another nail in the coffin of the MEN's 'New Order' for 2013, in my book will be the re-introduction of religious indoctrination under a banner emblazoned "Faith Matters" - but don't even get me started on that, what with all the hatred, misogyny and homophobia that has been pouring out of organised religion lately!!

How depressing it all is. The only ray of hope I can see in this Pandora’s box is that it will hopefully leave a stupendous gap in the North West newspaper market, primed and ready for some enterprising co-operative of journalists perhaps to step in and re-create a more civilised organ - possibly even a throwback to the MEN’s own magnificent liberal forebear, the Manchester Guardian . . .

:cheers:
 
#19,715 ·
Noticed 3043/44 out today, have these been spotted yet?
3043 tram had been in service since last Thursday as I said that last week

How long have 3043 tram been in service? as I been looking on flickr and someone took a picture of it at Piccadilly Garden stop with "Altrincham" on front of it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/d33206hg/8314795940/in/photostream/
For 3044 tram it might be first day that been in service as I not seen any report that tram been in service until today?
 
#19,716 ·
I thought it had always had half a dozen editions with advertising sold seperatly for the different distribution areas. Theres also a big difference between the 'city' edition and the edition sold elsewhere and the free version has minor differences from the City version being printed a few hours earlier.
 
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