Cycling Tour Comes to Town

Sadly, Colchester is not geared up for this sort of prestige event - and we should be. Colchester worships the car and wo-betide anybody who inconveniences the car driver. Years of political ineptitude have allowed this situation to prevail, rather than decisive action being taken to change things. Our politicians have allowed thousands of new homes to be built without any new roads or park and ride or new car parks being provided. The result is regular gridlock, misery all round - and danger to pedestrian and cyclist alike. We call ourselves a 'Cycling Town'. What a bloody joke! What have we done to make Colchester any safer for cyclists? The ideal location for a 'Park and Ride' at Tollgate has been removed by the granting of planning permission to the land owner who spent many months 'lobbying' his mates in the Town Hall to make himself a great deal of money through change of use of the land. The result is that we still have no park and ride, nor are there any plans for it. We have numerous plans for new housing but none for the essential infrastructure. Balkerne Heights now stands where a huge multi-storey car park should have been built. Profiteering is the reason, yet again. When will our politicians do something for the town rather than to line their own pockets? 'Never', do I hear you say? No, they would rather knife each other in the back. ........and claim their full quota of expenses!