Reader letter on pollution deaths in Colchester

at East Colchester and the extra six lanes for the A12 running through rural north Essex (Gazette, September 28, “One in 20 deaths linked to pollution in Colchester”).

It is deeply frustrating that Essex County Council is refusing to model an alternative proposal, called the “Green Cordon” to replace the dual carriageway.

It’s a win:win – lives will be saved, the savings on road cost can be ploughed into sustainable travel and Colchester will be protected from the congestion and pollution from the 18,000 or so cars the new residents will own.

The Green Cordon is very simple – access to Colchester from the south of the “garden community”, will only be by foot, bike or bus.

Residents of the new development would be able to access the strategic road network via a spur road onto the A120.

This approach is entirely in line with the heady enthusiasm of the early proponents of the garden communities who told us that car use would represent only 30 per cent of journeys, as opposed to 70 per cent in most of north Essex.

Let’s see these proponents put their money where their mouths are.

• To read more letters published in the Colchester Gazette click here. 

As for the A12, the villages of Copford, Easthorpe, Messing, Marks Tey and Feering will now be subject to the noise and air pollution of no fewer than TEN lanes of traffic.

No-one has been able to explain to me why, for one desired additional lane of capacity each way, six lanes are proposed.

Nor has anyone been able to justify the additional financial cost, when that money could be better directed to sustainable travel, nor the cost to the environment in terms of CO2 emissions.

We led to believe that we have a County Climate Czar.

One would think these things are top of his priority list.

Not so – he is not responding to attempts to contact him to discuss the Green Cordon or the A12.

Rosie Pearson

Pattiswick