More trees and more heritage to be lost

Connecting Leeds is the name chosen by Metro and the Highways Department for their latest transport scheme. It’s the successor to New Generation Transport (the failed trolleybus scheme), an earlier brainchild of Metro and the Highways Department. The purpose of both organisations appears to be to remove as much green space and heritage as possible along the A660. If the latest scheme goes ahead, the inbound bus stop at Hyde Park Corner would be enlarged, resulting in the loss of several mature trees. The central reservation would be removed and it’s lighting columns re-located to the verges on either side of the the dual carriageway. This would result in the loss of a great many trees which otherwise would block light from the re-located street lamps. The scheme would also result in the loss of all the outbound York stone pavement, and an unspecified amount of the grass verge inbound between Hyde Park Corner and Rampart Road. It would also create a new inbound bus lane on the grass verge and York stone pavement between Rampart Road and Raglan Road. If you think this sounds similar to what was being proposed under New Generation Transport, you’d be right. Only this would be even worse.