'Medway needs a transport revolution to reduce carbon emissions' - say Medway Liberal Democrats

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October to 12 November. Medway Liberal Democrats have long campaigned on environmental issues which affect our towns and we want to stay active on this issue, this is why we have decided to launch an environmental campaign for Medway to raise awareness of environmental concerns that affect our towns. This also coincides with our national 5 point green recovery plan and our campaign will focus on our own Medway 5 point Green Recovery plan

Transport Revolution:

This is why we are calling for Medway to lead the way in a transport revolution. Despite what the conservative council believe, Medway Liberal Democrats haven't given up on public transport in Medway. Transport is the UK's biggest source of carbon emissions, and yet public transport in Medway has been neglected and dismissed for decades forcing people to make even more unnecessary car journeys.

The Liberal democrats would invest £40 billion over three years in rail, buses and electric vehicles. In Medway we would call for a major push in electric car charging points, reassess the bus routes to improve connectivity, and call for a Medway rail card. Medway Liberal Democrats goal will always be to make public transport quicker and cheaper than car journeys.

Medway Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering sustainable transport, cutting carbon emissions and supporting public health. The government has said that half of all journeys will have to be made via active travel means by 2030, as part of our efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

In light of the recent fuel crisis, we feel that Medway Council's policies on providing electric vehicle charge points lacks vision and unambitious. We want the Council to allow installation in residential streets which lack off road parking using, where feasible, existing street furniture. If Medway is to become carbon neutral and cease using petrol or diesel vehicles, we need a mix of charging locations - on road and off, not just at different locations around our towns where people have to drive to charge a vehicle. This just discourages those willing to purchase an electric vehicle.

Alan Wells, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats said "Medway has already declared a climate emergency and to reach the goal of reducing emissions by 2030, we all need to drive less. The biggest impediment to taking up cycling is perceived danger. We want the necessary infrastructure at a time when the technology to make light work of our local hills is reaching maturity and becoming steadily more affordable and for people to start to take to Medway's streets and roads with confidence - helped further by the huge growth in e-bikes and scooters.

One initiative is a 'Bike to School Week' (piloted in other regions) is getting students to school in an environmentally friendly way. encouraging the use of environmentally friendly transport such as cycling and walking, and an example of how the whole community could work together to help protect its environment."

Over the past year, public interest in the environment has increased. According to YouGov' 'the percentage of people citing the Environment as the most important issue facing the country has increased from 23% in September 2020 to 33% in September 2021.

In the run up to COP26, 2021 is the year of action as we seek to rebalance the way in which we travel around our area and tackle the great challenges of pollution, the climate emergency and improving our health and wellbeing. We want to highlight that Medway's environment is local but is also connected to the global.

ENDS