Posted by Green Party campaigners have described the evidence to justify the controversial South Bristol Link Road as more like the “dodgy dossier” drawn up to support the invasion of Iraq.
On Thursday, West of England Joint Transport Executive Committee members will meet to discuss the project, which is proposed to be in operation by 2017.
How it could look: Artist's impression of the South Bristol Link Road
The £47million link would provide a route for bendy buses, general traffic on a single-carriageway road and a separate path for cyclists and pedestrians.
It would sweep around south Bristol from a terminus for bendy buses at the Long Ashton park and ride to the new community hospital at Hengrove.
The plan though has come under fire from pressure groups such as the Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance, which says the link road “is a piece of fiction created to give us a road rather than a transport scheme that works”.
Green spokesman Pete Goodwin has now submitted the party’s stance to the committee, saying: “Just like the Iraq dossier, it seriously lacks hard evidence, it’s selective, it relies on hearsay, and it’s driven by ideology and a deadline.”
Mr Goodwin added that when plans for the road came under scrutiny from members of all the West of England councils, they too complained of the ‘incompleteness’ of the arguments and called for much more persuasive evidence if it is to go ahead.
Supporters of the scheme say the development is an essential part of the regeneration of the city though.
John Savage, chief executive of Business West, which represents regional businesses, told the Evening Post in October last year that the link road was “a vital ingredient we’ve needed for transport and economic growth for 50 years. Any delays in making this link available would be robbing people and future generations of a better chance of getting a job.”
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