It is great to see that the Labour candidate for Strood South appears to oppose plans for Lower Thames Crossing Option C, seemingly in contrast to the official Medway Labour line. However as he has shown a reluctance to discuss the issue with me I do not know the extent of his opposition. I hope it is not just a cynical attempt to get votes.
The Greens remain the only local political party firmly opposed to Option C, as we have been from the start. We believe that this proposal will impact negatively on Strood and many other areas in Medway, bringing increased local traffic, noise and air pollution and damaging the local environment.
I believe we must end our obsession with road building and instead invest in public transport, ensuring it is run for the convenience of those who use it, rather than shareholders. With little scope for substantially improving the transport infrastructure here in Medway in the near future, to address our traffic issues we need to start to move away from dependence on car use. People will use public transport if it is affordable, reliable and goes to the places they want to go and at the times they want to travel.
Steve Dyke
Green Party Candidate for Strood South
Medway Green Party's Blog 