Consultation comedy
Page 31
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YOUR CORRESPONDENT W. A. Sharp (CM, May 11) rightly
points out that the northern end of the Greenwich-Hackney Mway peters out into local residential roads and Leytonstone High Road (a shoppingonly street by any description) before reaching the M11.
He might also have added that at the southern end, too, the A102(M) tapers off to become three miles of singlecarriageway along the notorious Rochester Way, before reaching the A2/M2.
Yet there has been no dearth of plans for both schemes, many public consultation exercises, some public inquiries — and a singular absence of any action. Taking the southern part first: a Dover Radial improvement scheme was first proposed in the mid-1960s. A public inquiry was held in 1970. The Inspector's report (in favour!) was shelved when the 0 LC went "anti-motorway". Now the GLC are talking about building a new dual-carriageway route which may be open by 1985. In the meantime there is to be another public inquiry. .
On the northern link with the M11, a public consultation exercise was held in 1974, and soon after the October 1974 General Election Transport Minister Fred Mulley announced his preferred route, which would, he said, "provide much-needed traffic relief to Leytonstone and Leyton".
However, not all the local boroughs did not agree with Mr Mulley's proposals. As a result, study groups and steering groups galore have been contemplating this, missing link for the past five years. The results of their deliberations should be available this autumn: they will present a number of possible options for consideration, eg we will be treated to the same exercise as took place in 1974.
ANDREW WARREN, Movement for London, Oxford St, London WI.