Commuters in cars coming into the city to work, shop, or to site-see, need places to park, and cause most of the problems within our city. To solve these problems (in the absence of an underground transit service) you will have to build, if not now then inevitably in the future, an overhead tram system linking out-of-city car parks to a building or buildings within the city centre. The trams (noiseless by means of magnetic levitation, with hydraulic drop down wheels, and a small diesel drive for emergencies e.g. power loss) will, if coming from the south of the city, pass through the building and proceed to the northern city car park, then in reverse return to the south. A similar transit system will go from east to west, then return west to east. The building referred to should contain storage facilities for people to use should they wish to leave their shopping and go site seeing in the city. It should also have a restaurant or snack bar to enable weary travellers who have travelled by car to our out-of-city car park and then caught the tram, to have a snack prior to walking around our city. The trams should be available twenty-four hours a day. Two extensions of the rail will be needed at the out-of-city tram termini for maintenance and a reserve tram. Additionally, the northern out-of-city car park/tram terminus should be closer to the airport than the current Park and Ride site.
Ø Tunnels will have to be bored under the city from the city centre tram station to the bus and train station, enabling visitors who have parked their cars at an out of city tram station to use these alternative means of travelling.
Ø Castle Mall car park should only be available to city-registered cars and should be accessible through a tunnel from the inner ring road. The present entry being exit only.
Living at the side of access and exit roads in the city is hell, with passing traffic causing one to be livid with rage at the apparent zero interest in reducing its volume, its noise or its pollution. The space between houses and shops should not be prioritised for commuter traffic, but for emergency vehicles, deliveries and registered city cars, thus generating a more traffic-free city. This will not be achieved with the addition of trams on the ground, or piddling about with road junctions, or by reducing the speed of traffic which increases pollution and noise.
Diesels should be banned from the city. They emit heavy toxic gases that
persist close to the ground and are dangerous to pedestrians and particularly
young children in prams. Taxis will be needed in the city, and electric taxis,
whose power could be supplied by the recycling plant should replace any diesel
ones at present in use. Taxis, which transport to other towns and cities, should
be stationed at the out-of-city car parks
When these priorities have been completed, commuters can be banned from coming into the inner city in their cars (it's for you to decide where the inner-city stops). Workers living in estates on the outskirts of the city will be able to drive to an ‘out-of-city car park’ and use the tram, or, with the subsequent reduction in traffic, the more reliable bus service.
Ø Raise a bond issue offering the 'pride in ownership' to the people of Norwich and others, restricting the payback to ensure that profit greed does not inflate fares.
Ø Ask a transit company to build and run it, their income from the service paying for their build and subsequent maintenance costs over a specific number of years, after which, income will be diverted to the bonds.
Ø Ask the European Union for a grant to pay for the compensation to the owners of properties that will need to be disrupted or demolished.
Ø The European Union Environmental Grants Commission is generous in helping green projects.
Ø Ask the lottery for a grant.
Ø
Tell the recycling centre that you want them to generate cheap
electricity for this project -
all to maintain subsequent fares as low as possible.
It would do Norwich proud to have a plan with a more futuristic and satisfying ending, than to witness successive piece-meal road plans showing no real improvement to the city. Once the above is incorporated, you can cut out the need for making city roads wider with bigger junctions, and concentrate on making pavements wider for dedicated cycle lanes, and provide more pedestrian friendly roads with trees, grass and flowers.