YP Letters: Leeds leaders lack vision to invest in transport that we need

IT really is depressing to find that Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake is using the £173.5m from the failed Trolleybus scheme towards piecemeal projects rather than to invest into the one thing that Leeds so urgently needs – a Supertram network. (The Yorkshire Post, December 6).

This just confirms how inept is the leadership of that city, which has been badly let down far too often and for far too long.

While there seems to be some support for the announced new Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway railway station on the Leeds to Harrogate line, one has to wonder whether this will actually be well received or not when up and running

Will those who do not live on that line (i.e. most people) want to find their way to their nearest station, change trains at the ever-congested Leeds station, catch a poor quality diesel train to the airport, and then a shuttle bus – often with heavy cases?

It all seems too much trouble, and could end up as a costly white elephant. Transport in Leeds has been a shambles for years. The council leadership, both now and in years gone by, is a prime example of how not to deal with such matters. With quality leaders, a mass transport system would have been in place years ago. Sadly, inept leaders appear to be the order of the day, with second-best seemingly acceptable.

This has to change – and fast.

From: Mike O’Halloran, Leeds.

A STATION next to the White Rose centre in Leeds is a complete no-brainer. A station should have been a requirement of building the shopping centre. The line is right next to it.

The airport needs a proper link too, but why are we only talking about these things now? These discussions should have been years ago and construction started already. Ditto with the tram system we’re never going to get.

From: William Murphy, Otley.

YOUR editorial specifically mentioned the lack of rolling stock on the Leeds to Harrogate line servicing the proposed new station at LBA (The Yorkshire Post, December 5). I assume the lack of a response from Leeds City Council means there are no assurances about extra trains.

From: Zoe Cooper, Harrogate.

I’VE given up going to Leeds, by car or train, because the roads are too congested and the trains too overcrowded. I go to Newcastle or Manchester, two cities with a proper transport service.