Installing trolleybus infrastructure is very simple and does not require removal of trees! The twin wires are strung 5.7 meters above the streets and there 350 cities worldwide have them. I don’t understand what’s the fuss about having a trolleybus system and why there is a need to tear down trees and buildings… baffled! Beijing, China has just opened a new trolleybus line this year and installed a stretch of new overhead wires for the route….no muss, no fuss and apparently the residents welcomed the move as trolleybuses are electrically powered thus, very clean and quiet. They like them in their estates as compared to diesel buses which are noisy! What’s freaking wrong with those frogs-in-the-well from Leeds?? Zurich, Geneva, Milan and lots of other great European cities have trolleybuses too… they are awesome and well liked by their residents there.
This scheme is an awful waste of money. 7 Conservation areas, past over a hundred listed buildings and 400 mature trees!!! Leeds does need to do something but trolleybus is NOT the answer! This scheme does not intend to cut any traffic on this route and LCC has done nothing to reduce congestion in anticipation of such a scheme as ngt. there are plenty of other less sensitive routes and I for one don’t wish to see Headingley Lane dessimated in the same way that all our other main routes into this city have been. Prepare for Headingley Lane to look like Kirkstall Road if this thing goes ahead. Can’t we get swampy up here to stop them chopping our woodlands down!!!
I have thought about this Trolley Bus proposal, and I have come up with a different idea, which is much less intrusive and would save many of the old buildings and mature trees.
Can someone publish the names of Leeds councillors who voted in favour of this mad proposition. We should all make sure we support any other mainstream candidate next time round
It is so sad to see how many trees they are prepared to tear down to make way for this scheme. I can’t believe that a few egotistical councillors who no doubt want to leave a “legacy” are prepared to rip the heart out of one of their most attractive areas. To hell with the community, to hell with the wildlife, to hell with Headingley as long as they get their shiny new project…
Conservation together with sensitive updating and improvement of transport services should I feel be at the centre of future plans anywhere but especially along this scenic artery.
This is not about making travel easier for the people of Leeds, in fact it has nothing to do with helping the travelling public of Leeds. Once again it’s all to do with some people making money, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. These people are helping themselves to our money (once again) and don’t give a stuff about helping the public. Don’t let them get away with it.
Why is it that LCC are able to find the funding for this purpose. When they’re actively reducing employee posts in order to comply with government saving requirements?
LCC has received £173M from central government for a new ‘bus-based’ system. According to the Council the project will cost £250M……..at the moment. This is likely to escalate. Where this extra money is going to come from no one is saying, but I should imagine it will entail more redundancies and more services cut.
I believe 400 mature trees are going to be chopped down!!, more congestion and less actual seats (between buses and trollies) than we have now in buses! oh yes a little matter of £250million. who thinks up these hair brain schemes????
I love the beautiful trees, it is all part of the headingley experience as you come out of the concrete jungle of the city centre, and see the calming green giants.
The A660 is the only remaining attractive road out of Leeds – Scott Hall Road was decimated by its guided bus system that buses chose not to use, and Kirkstall Road has been turned into a concrete jungle too!
This is appalling – to lose the trees and atmosphere of this beautiful area for an inappropriate and ineffective technology which will not improve travel times or traffic amounts.
I am sad at the loss of trees. I am sad for the changes that will be wreaked upon the historic amenity. What troubles me however is that I also spend enough time in other major cities to know Leeds is being seriously left behind in regards to investment in better amenity and infrastructure projects that make modern cities vibrant and great places to live.
Is the consensus view on this site that the a660 should just stay as it is? I hear no alternatives being proposed. I will have to read up on the Sheffield super tram lessons, was that a disaster? I feel Leeds is not bold enough with plans and ambitions and we should be pushing for better plans that take account of the concerns we have, and also look forward 10 & 20 years to delivering progress across the city.
I agree Jim. I now live in Poland -overall they probably do it slightly better.. But Leeds needs something. Its chaos! My concern is that if this initiative is stopped it wont be replaced. There are much better ideas -close the A 660 to all traffic for a start, but the vested interests wont do it!
I think most people would agree with you. Leeds public transport does need to be updated and improved but opting for a Trolleybus system seems to be taking a step back. More and more cities are abandoning such systems. New and better systems are being introduced all the time. Leeds does need to be bolder and to push for plans that take in the serious concerns of its citizens and businesses.
I agree that Leeds is far behind other, including smaller European cities. Most of them have impressive underground systems. Why can’t Leeds do something similar and avoid the environmental damage of the old technology trolley-bus system? Perhaps the costs could be met by a Bond with interest payments secured on the revenues.
out-of-date technology! to replace a good bus service ?, Could the ‘City Fathers who erected the luxurious but inappropriate Department of Health offices Carbuncle- alias ‘the Kremlin’-, also amazingly invented a uniquely unfit-for-purpose self shrinking international swimming pool, besides achieving the ‘WRONGLY SITUATED’ YEP monstrosity…, be trusted to deploy their ILL-CONCEIVED CREATIONS throughout the green corridor of our vibrant city ,in the guise of a non-state-of-the -art trolleybus? I think not : WORSE THAN A CRIME THE PLAN IS A MISTAKE
Yes, wrong scheme wrong place but this is yet another disaster in the name of ‘progress’ Which genius grants planning permission for such wholesale destruction?
According to LCC 70% of people are in favour – funnily enough neither I, nor anyone I know, has come across anyone who is! It will be a disaster for small businesses along the route.
It is heart-breaking to even contemplate the wholesale destruction of all that is beautiful about Headingley to Weetwood. There are no other green spaces in Headingley whatsoever. The impact on the wildlife, biodiversity mature trees and meadows would be an horrendous sacrifice for an obselete transport system. Conservation protection orders should not be over-turned by philisitine developers who have no soul.
The wanton destruction of these historic trees will completely change the nature of the whole area and cannot be justified by a scheme that simply isn’t necessary. Bus services on the route are perfectly adequate. If the bus operators were required to upgrade their out-of-date stock the “amenity” argument for the trolleybus scheme falls. Surely the Sheffield Supertram lesson should have been learnt by now?
I think there will be more than this actually at Lawnswood. So much destruction for an incredibly well served public transport route (in the north at least)
To do this and to not affect the present car use is disgraceful and we must stop this.
This is disgraceful. We need to get everyone to realise the extent of the destruction and disruption and have them object. The number of planning apps in a very short distance in a conservation area makes it blatently obvious that this is the wrong scheme in totally the wrong place
It’s unbelievable the carnage involved in partially replacing the existing routes with fairly elderly foreign technology. Is nobody listening to reason?
Although replanting of trees is proposed it will on no way make up for the loss of the character to the areas of which the mature trees to be axed are a part. This scheme will completely change the atmosphere of the conservation areas it passes through. What is the point of granting conservation status if schemes like this can ride rough shod through them!
Installing trolleybus infrastructure is very simple and does not require removal of trees! The twin wires are strung 5.7 meters above the streets and there 350 cities worldwide have them. I don’t understand what’s the fuss about having a trolleybus system and why there is a need to tear down trees and buildings… baffled! Beijing, China has just opened a new trolleybus line this year and installed a stretch of new overhead wires for the route….no muss, no fuss and apparently the residents welcomed the move as trolleybuses are electrically powered thus, very clean and quiet. They like them in their estates as compared to diesel buses which are noisy! What’s freaking wrong with those frogs-in-the-well from Leeds?? Zurich, Geneva, Milan and lots of other great European cities have trolleybuses too… they are awesome and well liked by their residents there.
This scheme is an awful waste of money. 7 Conservation areas, past over a hundred listed buildings and 400 mature trees!!! Leeds does need to do something but trolleybus is NOT the answer! This scheme does not intend to cut any traffic on this route and LCC has done nothing to reduce congestion in anticipation of such a scheme as ngt. there are plenty of other less sensitive routes and I for one don’t wish to see Headingley Lane dessimated in the same way that all our other main routes into this city have been. Prepare for Headingley Lane to look like Kirkstall Road if this thing goes ahead. Can’t we get swampy up here to stop them chopping our woodlands down!!!
I have thought about this Trolley Bus proposal, and I have come up with a different idea, which is much less intrusive and would save many of the old buildings and mature trees.
Here are my thoughts about a “hanging train”: http://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8aHDmtcwr3-aXgta0ZhU09MeW8/edit?usp=sharing
This is still “work in progress”, and I am going to update that document with more information and details.
Do you think that is a viable and feasible idea?
Can someone publish the names of Leeds councillors who voted in favour of this mad proposition. We should all make sure we support any other mainstream candidate next time round
It is so sad to see how many trees they are prepared to tear down to make way for this scheme. I can’t believe that a few egotistical councillors who no doubt want to leave a “legacy” are prepared to rip the heart out of one of their most attractive areas. To hell with the community, to hell with the wildlife, to hell with Headingley as long as they get their shiny new project…
Conservation together with sensitive updating and improvement of transport services should I feel be at the centre of future plans anywhere but especially along this scenic artery.
This is not about making travel easier for the people of Leeds, in fact it has nothing to do with helping the travelling public of Leeds. Once again it’s all to do with some people making money, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. These people are helping themselves to our money (once again) and don’t give a stuff about helping the public. Don’t let them get away with it.
Why is it that LCC are able to find the funding for this purpose. When they’re actively reducing employee posts in order to comply with government saving requirements?
LCC has received £173M from central government for a new ‘bus-based’ system. According to the Council the project will cost £250M……..at the moment. This is likely to escalate. Where this extra money is going to come from no one is saying, but I should imagine it will entail more redundancies and more services cut.
The trolleybus is a crazy waste of money. The bus service is perfectly good.
I believe 400 mature trees are going to be chopped down!!, more congestion and less actual seats (between buses and trollies) than we have now in buses! oh yes a little matter of £250million. who thinks up these hair brain schemes????
I love the beautiful trees, it is all part of the headingley experience as you come out of the concrete jungle of the city centre, and see the calming green giants.
The A660 is the only remaining attractive road out of Leeds – Scott Hall Road was decimated by its guided bus system that buses chose not to use, and Kirkstall Road has been turned into a concrete jungle too!
This is appalling – to lose the trees and atmosphere of this beautiful area for an inappropriate and ineffective technology which will not improve travel times or traffic amounts.
I am sad at the loss of trees. I am sad for the changes that will be wreaked upon the historic amenity. What troubles me however is that I also spend enough time in other major cities to know Leeds is being seriously left behind in regards to investment in better amenity and infrastructure projects that make modern cities vibrant and great places to live.
Is the consensus view on this site that the a660 should just stay as it is? I hear no alternatives being proposed. I will have to read up on the Sheffield super tram lessons, was that a disaster? I feel Leeds is not bold enough with plans and ambitions and we should be pushing for better plans that take account of the concerns we have, and also look forward 10 & 20 years to delivering progress across the city.
I agree Jim. I now live in Poland -overall they probably do it slightly better.. But Leeds needs something. Its chaos! My concern is that if this initiative is stopped it wont be replaced. There are much better ideas -close the A 660 to all traffic for a start, but the vested interests wont do it!
I think most people would agree with you. Leeds public transport does need to be updated and improved but opting for a Trolleybus system seems to be taking a step back. More and more cities are abandoning such systems. New and better systems are being introduced all the time. Leeds does need to be bolder and to push for plans that take in the serious concerns of its citizens and businesses.
I agree that Leeds is far behind other, including smaller European cities. Most of them have impressive underground systems. Why can’t Leeds do something similar and avoid the environmental damage of the old technology trolley-bus system? Perhaps the costs could be met by a Bond with interest payments secured on the revenues.
out-of-date technology! to replace a good bus service ?, Could the ‘City Fathers who erected the luxurious but inappropriate Department of Health offices Carbuncle- alias ‘the Kremlin’-, also amazingly invented a uniquely unfit-for-purpose self shrinking international swimming pool, besides achieving the ‘WRONGLY SITUATED’ YEP monstrosity…, be trusted to deploy their ILL-CONCEIVED CREATIONS throughout the green corridor of our vibrant city ,in the guise of a non-state-of-the -art trolleybus? I think not : WORSE THAN A CRIME THE PLAN IS A MISTAKE
Oh you are so right! Please make sure you register your concerns before 1st Nov
Yes, wrong scheme wrong place but this is yet another disaster in the name of ‘progress’ Which genius grants planning permission for such wholesale destruction?
According to LCC 70% of people are in favour – funnily enough neither I, nor anyone I know, has come across anyone who is! It will be a disaster for small businesses along the route.
It is heart-breaking to even contemplate the wholesale destruction of all that is beautiful about Headingley to Weetwood. There are no other green spaces in Headingley whatsoever. The impact on the wildlife, biodiversity mature trees and meadows would be an horrendous sacrifice for an obselete transport system. Conservation protection orders should not be over-turned by philisitine developers who have no soul.
Do we not have a statement from Friends of the Earth about the lost of so many well established trees? I can see myself doing some tree hugging here.
so much potential destruction for so little gain except in money from the government to the council It must be stopped.
The wanton destruction of these historic trees will completely change the nature of the whole area and cannot be justified by a scheme that simply isn’t necessary. Bus services on the route are perfectly adequate. If the bus operators were required to upgrade their out-of-date stock the “amenity” argument for the trolleybus scheme falls. Surely the Sheffield Supertram lesson should have been learnt by now?
I think there will be more than this actually at Lawnswood. So much destruction for an incredibly well served public transport route (in the north at least)
To do this and to not affect the present car use is disgraceful and we must stop this.
think this is a total waste of money , and hope that there are enough protestors and opposition to prevent this from going ahead .
This is disgraceful. We need to get everyone to realise the extent of the destruction and disruption and have them object. The number of planning apps in a very short distance in a conservation area makes it blatently obvious that this is the wrong scheme in totally the wrong place
It’s unbelievable the carnage involved in partially replacing the existing routes with fairly elderly foreign technology. Is nobody listening to reason?
Although replanting of trees is proposed it will on no way make up for the loss of the character to the areas of which the mature trees to be axed are a part. This scheme will completely change the atmosphere of the conservation areas it passes through. What is the point of granting conservation status if schemes like this can ride rough shod through them!