IT’S ALL very well Keiran Preston telling us he has clear aims for Leeds, but what is he actually doing to achieve them? (YEP 20.10.12)
Someone with drive and ambition for Leeds would never say as Mr Preston does, that because these are austere times, there’s no point asking for the money for an effective rapid transit system. This sort of attitude at Metro is why we have gridlock on our roads and thousands of man hours wasted every year.
Times are indeed austere, but the current government is looking for major infrastructure projects to kick start the economy.
That’s why they’re going to spend £32 billion creating a high speed rail link from London to the Midlands. An underground system in Leeds would cost a tenth of that and would provide a massive boost to the local economy.
A window of opportunity has opened. But Mr Preston seems determined not to go through it.
Because Metro has asked for money in the past and been refused, doesn’t mean there’s no point ever asking again. If Metro doesn’t understand this, they need to be made to understand. Otherwise, Leeds will never get the rapid transit system it deserves.
ELIZABETH LEIGH, Leeds 6
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