WHAT bearing does traffic chaos have on planning applications?
At the recent council panel hearing, permission was given to Southampton University to build two multi-storey car parks on the soon to be redeveloped Boldrewood site.
There would be additional traffic light-controlled access in Burgess Road, just a few yards away from one of Southampton's busiest junctions at Bassett Crossroads.
At a current over-capacity of 20 per cent, the junction and its feeder roads will soon become host to an increase of 130 per cent in car journeys, plus an inevitable slowing down of public transport.
Green travel plan? What hope is there for its targets? Both the Highways Agency representative and the senior planning officer accepted that a 130 per cent increase in car traffic in that area should not be allowed to affect the university's expansion plans. Therefore the councillors unamimously gave the application the nod.
As John McEnroe famously said: "You cannot be serious!'' DONALD COWIE, Southampton.
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