June 2003

BCT have once again started trying to prove the trams are noisy. Their highly technical and highly dubious "research" is simply causing upset amongst the vulnerable members of our society. I do wish BCT would listen to people who know. People like the elderly residents living within 10 yards of a tram in Croydon. They don't see noise as an issue but do see increased mobility as important. 25% of Tramlink users are over 60. People like Helen Smith who lives next to line 1 of NET and wrote:

"Now that they've started testing the new trams at the bottom of our garden I can confirm that they are very quiet. The track is about thirty feet from our house and when sitting in the living room I can barely hear a thing as one passes. The traffic on the road is much louder."
(Nottingham Evening Post letters 26/06/03)

The antis had always claimed that the elections at the start of May would be a referendum on the trams. Well if it was, then they lost. Below are excerpts from Labour party leaflets being delivared in area. The Liberal Democrats have also pointed that most people voted fro pro-tram candidates.

'(After commenting on the election result figures)...........What was perhaps most significant was the collapse of the anti-tram vote. Almost 70% of voters opted for pro-tram candidates and this shows that in Beeston people support the proposals. The big losers were the anti-tram Green Party who saw their vote implode in Beeston Central where they were pushed into third place by the Tories and registered just 447 votes.

"It is now clear that people in Beeston support the tram" said Maggie (Cllr Garrett) "It's time the anti tram groups started to listen to this ground swell of opinion and work with us to secure the best deal for Beeston rather than against us to scupper the project"'

'In Beeston West the turnout was one of the biggest in the borough and the pro-tram was also higher with 75% of voters supporting pro-tram candidates................'

From the Beeston West Community Action Team (CAT) Newsletter:

'................Simon (Cllr Rich Deputy Leader Broxtowe Borough Council) commented "The interesting fact is that having been told by anti-tram groups that the election would be a referendum on the project 75% of those who voted, opted for pro-tram candidates. This reinforces our message that people in Beeston support the project and we will certainly carry on lobbying for the NET extension to South Broxtowe.'

"The number of injuries sustained in road traffic accidents in Croydon fell by 10 per cent to their lowest level in 2002.

The figures for 2002, issued by Croydon Council's environmental services department, show that 1,569 casualties occurred, 98 fewer than the previous low in 2001. The number of people killed or seriously injured fell to 237, 10 per cent down on 2001, but is only four per cent below the 1994-98 average the council had hoped to reduce levels to 40 per cent of that.No-one under 16 was killed on the roads, but 34 were injured the lowest figure on record."

The results from BCBRA's survey (see our March 31st story) have been released. The unscientific and biased nature of it is clear from the results. 10% of their respondents said they would definitely use the tram where as NET's professionally conducted survey showed 34%. Whilst a small or modest amount of deviation between the two survey's results is to be expected, this is statistically abnormal.

Another indication of the amateurish nature of the survey is that they found that 21.70% of people would frequently or regularly use the tram in preference to a car, motorbike or bicycle and 26.51% of people would frequently or regularly use the tram in preference to other public transports. Yet, in another question they found that for 90.08% of people the tram would seldom, never or only occasionally change how they will travel. So some 48% people would frequently use the tram in preference to other modes of transport but 90% of people would seldom or never use the tram. These are plainly contradictory.

There was a derailment during recent testing of the trams. We understand that the investigation team set up by the manufacturers has now reported. The report is not yet public. We have asked NET for more information but we do know that it happened at low speed and in an area closed to the public. The whole purpose of this testing is to ensure everything works before there is any possibility of the public being injured.