Press Release - 01 August 2006

BBEG member Ted Brooks writes to the Editor of the Boston Target

We write in response to your article in last week’s Boston Target entitled, “Let’s not rush for a bypass!”

Your headline sums up the approach we’ve been facing by Lincolnshire County Council to date. As you know, both local newspapers have run campaigns for a bypass for several years now and there are several pressure groups trying to get Lincolnshire County Council to open their eyes to Boston’s dire traffic situation that needs something doing about it urgently.

But we keep being told that the chance of getting a bypass for Boston is low. It even says so on the Transport Strategy Public Consultation document. It is this very attitude that we must overcome at Lincolnshire County Council.

We do not think it is right for Keith Barber, senior project manager for Jacobs Babtie, to make such a comment as, "The likelihood of getting funding for a bypass is low", since surely his role is to produce the figures and let other people interpret them?

What is critical for a case to be made for Boston is the correct definition of "through traffic". Our website www.bbeg.org.uk shows our interpretation of what “through traffic” actually is in Boston and such a definition produces a figure of almost 80%.

This is the same high figure as the result of BBC Radio Lincolnshire's Breakfast Show feature entitled “Battle of the Bypasses”, the results of which were announced on Friday 28th July. The show reported an all time record of text votes for any feature they have ever made. The results were Boston 81%, Lincoln 15%, Skegness 2% and Stamford 2%.

We all need to push for a bypass and do some tinkering in the meantime while a bypass is being planned and then built. Councillor William Webb, LCC Executive Member for Highways told us at the recent public consultation on the Wednesday in Boston’s Market Place that, “After today, I would be very foolish to return to LCC and do nothing for Boston. It is clear that Boston needs both a short term and long term solution.”

Councillor Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, stated on BBC Radio Lincolnshire the other week that, “Boston needs a bypass”, and upon hearing the runaway results of the text voting for Boston, said, “We must get everything organised in Lincolnshire to put a good case for Boston”.

We hope to never see such a headline as “Let’s not rush for a bypass!” again. It’s over to you Councillors Hill and Webb.

Ted Brooks
Boston Bypass & Economic Growth Pressure Group (BBEG)
www.bbeg.org.uk
01 August 2006