Gammons will love this total lie - it was due to a massive £750 million equal pay bill, but let's blame cyclists - our racist haters will lap it up.

==============================
Families in Birmingham have asked why their bankrupt council spent £10million on a 'cycle highway' which causes traffic chaos and is wider than a bus lane.

The multi-million-pound cycle lane was opened in 2019 but motorists say it has been barely used and is a prime example of the authority's financial incompetence.

Residents also pointed out that the council spent £16million moving a bus depot 300 metres for the Commonwealth Games and it was 'no surprise' it had gone bankrupt.

On Tuesday the Labour-run council issued a section 114 notice, meaning it cannot meet its financial liabilities amid an outstanding £760million in equal pay claims.

The council, which is Europe's largest local authority, confirmed that all but essential new spending must stop immediately.

Locals have since highlighted a number of examples of shocking wastes of money which have contributed to town hall bosses finding themselves in the perilous position.

The council spent £10million on 'cycle highway' which causes traffic chaos and is wider than a bus lane

They include a 2.5-mile 'cycle highway' along the A34 - one of the busiest commuter routes into the city - which has been barely used by cyclists since opening four years ago.

Road users say the lane, between the city centre and Perry Barr, causes complete gridlock at rush hour and forces the bus lane further into the road.

It means parts of the road have been left with just one lane for cars - while in other sections the cycle lane slices into the pavement.

Photographs taken yesterday show bumper-to-bumper cars, with the lane sitting empty and one cyclist even ignoring it to ride down the main road instead.

Residents say the £9.85million route only brought commuter chaos in an already over-congested city and cyclists continue to ride along the pavement or road.

The original facility was to make way for an athletes' village - which never even materialised and was instead turned into affordable housing.

The cost was even highlighted at the time in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Gary Sambrook, who represents Birmingham Northfield.

The council, which is Europe's largest local authority, confirmed all but essential new spending must stop immediately.

He said in January 2021: 'In Birmingham, the city council originally budgeted £2million to move a bus depot.

'That escalated to £16million, which local people are going to have to pay, all to achieve a move down the road of only 300 metres.

'Is that not just a perfect example of Labour incompetence in local government?'

It also emerged the council ignored advice not to host the Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties.

Birmingham resident Emily Hill, 45, a mum-of-three and sales advisor, said: 'I live in Perry Barr, where in the last few years there have been some shocking wastes of cash.

'It is not surprise the council find themselves in this position having splashed £10million on a cycle lane nobody uses and £16million on moving a bus depot.

'The cycle lane is only a couple of miles long and reduces traffic to a single lane, causing absolute gridlock. It was a ridiculous decision.

'Cyclists use the main road or pavement anyway, it has made no difference at all. If anything it has made traffic worse.

'The bus depot was moved just down the road for the athletes' village which wasn't finished in time either. Surely people saw this news coming.

'It's been one expensive waste after another and I cannot believe nobody has stepped in at some point and said "I think this is a bad idea".

'Then there's the cost of hosting the Commonwealth Games itself which looks like the final nail in the coffin.

'We have seen no legacy of the games and now I expect the area will just be left to rot.'

Dad-of-one Paul Turner, 36, an electrician from Kingstanding, Birmingham, added: 'The people of this city have seen this coming for a while so it's no surprise really.

'Their financial difficulties have been well publicised for a long time yet we went ahead and hosted the games even when they were warned not to.

'That cycle lane is a prime example of how out of touch these people are with reality and £16million moving a bus depot that didn't need moving is just farcical.

'It's no wonder they got into such a mess, and it's the people of this city who will now probably suffer as a result of their financial incompetence.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12491087/Furious-locals-slam-bankrupt-Birmingham-council-wasting-10million-2-5-mile-cycle-highway-wider-bus-lane-barely-used-causes-traffic-chaos.html#comments

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> Gammons will love this total lie - it was due to a massive £750 million
> equal pay bill, but let's blame cyclists - our racist haters will lap it up

Actually, the problem has arisen because BCC failed to implement the law on
equal pay, and was left with a massive back-pay bill when the claims came
in.

Was this by any chance a Labour-run Council?

I ask because Socialist governments always run out of other people’s money
to spend…

> ===============================

> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12491087/Furious-locals-slam-bankrupt-Birmingham-council-wasting-10million-2-5-mile-cycle-highway-wider-bus-lane-barely-used-causes-traffic-chaos.html#comments

--
Spike

Allergic to BS, Paris Frankfurt Milan, Germany, 4 hours ago

In five years or less, many car drivers will be thankful for the investment in cycle lanes as the cost of driving and parking is priced to get cars off the roads. Think about it, less deaths , less injuries, more exercise , less pollution, less noise, safer environment and more money in your pocket. Whats not to like?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Allergic to BS, Paris Frankfurt Milan, Germany, 4 hours ago
>
> In five years or less, many car drivers will be thankful for the
> investment in cycle lanes as the cost of driving and parking is priced to
> get cars off the roads. Think about it, less deaths , less injuries, more
> exercise , less pollution, less noise, safer environment and more money
> in your pocket. Whats not to like?

What’s not to like? The diktat taken straight out of the Soviet Union: We
know what’s good for you.

He probably believes in ‘climate change’ as well.

--
Spike

t's bound to be wider than a bus lane because it is two-way when the bus lane is one way. I doubt that the cycle lanes alone cost 10m - that will be cost for the entire entire project because the roadway was also re-laid. The reason why many cyclists don't use such lanes is that they aren't (yet) joined up with other cycling infrastructure.

On 07/09/2023 19:21, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> Gammons will love this total lie - it was due to a massive £750 million equal pay bill, but let's blame cyclists - our racist haters will lap it up.
>
> ===============================
>
> Families in Birmingham have asked why their bankrupt council spent £10million on a 'cycle highway' which causes traffic chaos and is wider than a bus lane.
>
> The multi-million-pound cycle lane was opened in 2019 but motorists say it has been barely used and is a prime example of the authority's financial incompetence.
>
> Residents also pointed out that the council spent £16million moving a bus depot 300 metres for the Commonwealth Games and it was 'no surprise' it had gone bankrupt.
>
> On Tuesday the Labour-run council issued a section 114 notice, meaning it cannot meet its financial liabilities amid an outstanding £760million in equal pay claims.
>
> The council, which is Europe's largest local authority, confirmed that all but essential new spending must stop immediately.
>
> Locals have since highlighted a number of examples of shocking wastes of money which have contributed to town hall bosses finding themselves in the perilous position.
>
> The council spent £10million on 'cycle highway' which causes traffic chaos and is wider than a bus lane
>
> They include a 2.5-mile 'cycle highway' along the A34 - one of the busiest commuter routes into the city - which has been barely used by cyclists since opening four years ago.
>
> Road users say the lane, between the city centre and Perry Barr, causes complete gridlock at rush hour and forces the bus lane further into the road.
>
> It means parts of the road have been left with just one lane for cars - while in other sections the cycle lane slices into the pavement.
>
> Photographs taken yesterday show bumper-to-bumper cars, with the lane sitting empty and one cyclist even ignoring it to ride down the main road instead.
>
> Residents say the £9.85million route only brought commuter chaos in an already over-congested city and cyclists continue to ride along the pavement or road.
>
> The original facility was to make way for an athletes' village - which never even materialised and was instead turned into affordable housing.
>
> The cost was even highlighted at the time in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Gary Sambrook, who represents Birmingham Northfield.
>
> The council, which is Europe's largest local authority, confirmed all but essential new spending must stop immediately.
>
> He said in January 2021: 'In Birmingham, the city council originally budgeted £2million to move a bus depot.
>
> 'That escalated to £16million, which local people are going to have to pay, all to achieve a move down the road of only 300 metres.
>
> 'Is that not just a perfect example of Labour incompetence in local government?'
>
> It also emerged the council ignored advice not to host the Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties.
>
> Birmingham resident Emily Hill, 45, a mum-of-three and sales advisor, said: 'I live in Perry Barr, where in the last few years there have been some shocking wastes of cash.
>
> 'It is not surprise the council find themselves in this position having splashed £10million on a cycle lane nobody uses and £16million on moving a bus depot.
>
> 'The cycle lane is only a couple of miles long and reduces traffic to a single lane, causing absolute gridlock. It was a ridiculous decision.
>
> 'Cyclists use the main road or pavement anyway, it has made no difference at all. If anything it has made traffic worse.
>
> 'The bus depot was moved just down the road for the athletes' village which wasn't finished in time either. Surely people saw this news coming.
>
> 'It's been one expensive waste after another and I cannot believe nobody has stepped in at some point and said "I think this is a bad idea".
>
> 'Then there's the cost of hosting the Commonwealth Games itself which looks like the final nail in the coffin.
>
> 'We have seen no legacy of the games and now I expect the area will just be left to rot.'
>
> Dad-of-one Paul Turner, 36, an electrician from Kingstanding, Birmingham, added: 'The people of this city have seen this coming for a while so it's no surprise really.
>
> 'Their financial difficulties have been well publicised for a long time yet we went ahead and hosted the games even when they were warned not to.
>
> 'That cycle lane is a prime example of how out of touch these people are with reality and £16million moving a bus depot that didn't need moving is just farcical.
>
> 'It's no wonder they got into such a mess, and it's the people of this city who will now probably suffer as a result of their financial incompetence.'
>
> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12491087/Furious-locals-slam-bankrupt-Birmingham-council-wasting-10million-2-5-mile-cycle-highway-wider-bus-lane-barely-used-causes-traffic-chaos.html#comments

Where's the lie ?
The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.

Then hosting the commonwealth games is cited as the "final nail in the
coffin"

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:18:34 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:

> Where's the lie ?
> The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.

QUOTE: £750 million equal pay bill. ENDS
Plus the £778 million Commonweath Games boondoggle.
Just those two equal over £1.5bn.

The bike lane was only £10 million - hardly enough to "bankrupt" the entire council as the article infers.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:18:34 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
>
>> Where's the lie ?
>> The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.
>
> QUOTE: £750 million equal pay bill. ENDS
> Plus the £778 million Commonweath Games boondoggle.
> Just those two equal over £1.5bn.

> The bike lane was only £10 million - hardly enough to "bankrupt" the
> entire council as the article infers.

That’s not the point, is it?

One can spend £10m badly, and while it of itself might not break the
Council’s finances, it is indicative of the mindset that ignores legal
obligations to the point where the fallout from that does in fact break the
finances.

HTH

--
Spike

On 13/09/2023 13:20, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:18:34 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
>
>> Where's the lie ?
>> The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.
>
> QUOTE: £750 million equal pay bill. ENDS
> Plus the £778 million Commonweath Games boondoggle.
> Just those two equal over £1.5bn.
>
> The bike lane was only £10 million - hardly enough to "bankrupt" the entire council as the article infers.

The article infers nothing, that's entirely on you.

I think the word you are groveling for is IMPLIES.

I don't see an implication anyway.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 2:42:41 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
> On 13/09/2023 13:20, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:18:34 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
> >
> >> Where's the lie ?
> >> The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.
> >
> > QUOTE: £750 million equal pay bill. ENDS
> > Plus the £778 million Commonweath Games boondoggle.
> > Just those two equal over £1.5bn.
> >
> > The bike lane was only £10 million - hardly enough to "bankrupt" the entire council as the article infers.
> The article infers nothing, that's entirely on you.
>
> I think the word you are groveling for is IMPLIES.
>
> I don't see an implication anyway.

If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence of a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health. They could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got the gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 2:42:41 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
>> On 13/09/2023 13:20, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 12:18:34 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
>>>
>>>> Where's the lie ?
>>>> The bike lane is cited as an example of the badly run finances.
>>>
>>> QUOTE: £750 million equal pay bill. ENDS
>>> Plus the £778 million Commonweath Games boondoggle.
>>> Just those two equal over £1.5bn.
>>>
>>> The bike lane was only £10 million - hardly enough to "bankrupt" the
>>> entire council as the article infers.
>> The article infers nothing, that's entirely on you.
>>
>> I think the word you are groveling for is IMPLIES.
>>
>> I don't see an implication anyway.
>
> If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence of
> a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health.

That item is there to illustrate the mindset of BCC.

> They could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got
> the gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.

Cyclists, eh? Not the sharpest tools in the toolbox.

--
Spike

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 4:47:04 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> >
> > I don't see an implication anyway.
> If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence of a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health. They could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got the gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.

You can tell this by the fact they have to MODERATE the comments in dead cyclist stories.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 4:47:04 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>>
>>> I don't see an implication anyway.
>> If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence of
>> a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health. They
>> could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got the
>> gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.
>
> You can tell this by the fact they have to MODERATE the comments in dead cyclist stories.

Perhaps they do that because some people have a morbid fascination with
dead cyclists.

--
Spike

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 5:07:32 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 4:47:04 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > >
> > > I don't see an implication anyway.
> > If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence of a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health. They could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got the gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.
> You can tell this by the fact they have to MODERATE the comments in dead cyclist stories.

They don't seem to laugh at bricks getting lobbed off bridges into windscreens for some reason.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 5:07:32 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 4:47:04 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>>>
>>>> I don't see an implication anyway.
>>> If you remove the insinuation in the Daily Mail article, the presence
>>> of a new cycle lane is totally irrelevant to BCC financial health. They
>>> could have blamed libraries or schools, but that would not have got the
>>> gammons frothing at the mouth. Their readers are cyclist haters.
>> You can tell this by the fact they have to MODERATE the comments in dead cyclist stories.
>
> They don't seem to laugh at bricks getting lobbed off bridges into
> windscreens for some reason.

You can’t seem to tell the difference between ‘an accident’ and ‘a
deliberate’.

Cyclists, eh?

--
Spike

QUOTE: Residents also pointed out that the council spent £16million moving a bus depot 300 metres for the Commonwealth Games and it was 'no surprise' it had gone bankrupt. ENDS

So BCC spent £6 000 000 more on moving the bus depot than on the cycle lane, but the headline blames cyclists?
Typical right wing press.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: Residents also pointed out that the council spent £16million
> moving a bus depot 300 metres for the Commonwealth Games and it was 'no
> surprise' it had gone bankrupt. ENDS
>
> So BCC spent £6 000 000 more on moving the bus depot than on the cycle
> lane, but the headline blames cyclists?
> Typical right wing press.

That’s not the point, is it?

One can spend £10m or £16m badly, and while it of itself might not break
the Council’s finances, it is indicative of the mindset that ignores legal
obligations to the point where the fallout from that does in fact break the
finances. A ‘Right wing press’ has nothing to do with Socialists behaving
badly and running out of other people’s money to spend because of
incompetence or ideology.

--
Spike

QUOTE: Photographs taken yesterday show bumper-to-bumper cars, with the lane sitting empty and one cyclist even ignoring it to ride down the main road instead. ENDS

What was the offence here?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: Photographs taken yesterday show bumper-to-bumper cars, with the
> lane sitting empty and one cyclist even ignoring it to ride down the main
> road instead. ENDS
>
> What was the offence here?

You don’t find the dreadful waste, by Socialists, of public money, in any
way offensive?

--
Spike

QUOTE: They include a 2.5-mile 'cycle highway' along the A34 - one of the busiest commuter routes into the city - which has been barely used by cyclists since opening four years ago. ENDS

"Barely used" and /also/ "one of the busiest commuter routes"?
Erwin Schrödinger strikes again! :-)

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: They include a 2.5-mile 'cycle highway' along the A34 - one of the
> busiest commuter routes into the city - which has been barely used by
> cyclists since opening four years ago. ENDS
>
> "Barely used" and /also/ "one of the busiest commuter routes"?
> Erwin Schrödinger strikes again! :-)

Sounds very much like their tragic surveys and/or consultations were
flawed.

Socialists wasting other people’s money again…

--
Spike

Spike <aero.spike@btinternet.invalid> wrote:
> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>> QUOTE: They include a 2.5-mile 'cycle highway' along the A34 - one of the
>> busiest commuter routes into the city - which has been barely used by
>> cyclists since opening four years ago. ENDS
>>
>> "Barely used" and /also/ "one of the busiest commuter routes"?
>> Erwin Schrödinger strikes again! :-)
>
> Sounds very much like their tragic surveys and/or consultations were
> flawed.
>
> Socialists wasting other people’s money again…

“…traffic surveys…”

Spell chuckers, eh?

--
Spike

QUOTE: It also emerged the council ignored advice not to host the Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties. ENDS

Fully agree - these games are only of any interest to senile gammons still harking back to the days of Empire and sad flag shaggers.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> QUOTE: It also emerged the council ignored advice not to host the
> Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties. ENDS
>
> Fully agree - these games are only of any interest to senile gammons
> still harking back to the days of Empire and sad flag shaggers.

Doesn’t sound much like the courted voter base for a Socialist council,
does it?

Why would BCC target such voters with such largesse?

--
Spike

On Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 4:29:37 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail..com wrote:
> QUOTE: It also emerged the council ignored advice not to host the Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties. ENDS
>
> Fully agree - these games are only of any interest to senile gammons still harking back to the days of Empire and sad flag shaggers.

Then, like in the coronation, they litter the streets with their silly little flags, tents and hats.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/royal-family/2023/05/07/TELEMMGLPICT000334756883_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqp0UK_jEh0acXsIxj-tvrXpgojZYlP8f0i9h2tPqCNsM..jpeg?imwidth=960