GOOD Morning Vietnam!
I don’t know why I said that, I should really be wishing you a Happy New Year.
Well I do know why I said it.
It is either because I’ve got plans to expand this blog globally in 2026, or on Monday our Film Club’s first movie of the year was Good Morning Vietnam, the Robin Williams tour de force, chosen by our newest member, photographer Simon Dewhurst.
You be the judge.
What’s the weather like outside?
You got a window? Open it!
Right, that’s enough lines from the film.
Let’s get back to reality.
Although the way the news agenda has shaped up in the last week or so, I wonder how many of us are that comfortable with reality?
The good news is that we have some positive New Year pronouncements from the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin.
Responding to reports that emerged last month that a Government review may delay the creation of a mass transit system – effectively a tram system – in Leeds from the early 2030s to the end of the decade, Our Tracy said that the tram delay is a set back, but it’s not terminal.
As someone who has been a longtime observer of the confounded machinations surrounding the delivery of any kind of mass transit system in Leeds, I’d say that the word terminal is less likely to apply to the creation of a tram terminus and probably sums up the fading hopes for transport in this major city to step into the 20th century, never mind the 21st.
But Tracy Brabin is remaining positive.
Well, without hope, what have you got left?
Answering questions on her regular Message the Mayor slot on BBC Radio Leeds, Brabin told listeners (I haven’t seen the latest RAJAR radio audience figures so I’m being positive and making that word plural):
“We have the money. We have the political will. Everybody wants a mass transit system for West Yorkshire.
“We’re the first to do this in the devolved world. We’re going to look at how to sharpen the process to do this in the devolved world.”
“And this commitment to spades in the ground by 2028 – I still stand by that.”
Even for someone who has made an art out of being mealy-mouthed, this is total twaddle.
If the money is there, if the political will is there and if the public support is there, why aren’t they getting on and building the damn tram?
Perhaps it is because the Government, which she supports, has thrown yet another spanner in the works.
And I’m not even being political here, nothing happened during the previous 15 years of Conservative rule and Labour under Blair and Brown before that.
In fact someone told me the other day that he was warned by his father when he was a teenager that they may have to move out of their Headingley home because it lay on the route of the planned Leeds tram system.
And he’s now 63.
The Mayor went on to address concerns from opposition politicians and campaigners that the delay could make the project more expensive.
“I’m worried about that – I’m going to be frank,” she admitted with welcome candour.
But normal service was resumed with her next couple of sentences:
“Which is why I am really pleased that the secretary of state for transport and Lord Peter Hendy (the Government minister with oversight of the scheme) are in agreement.
“We all have to find ways to innovate, to change the planning processes, to sharpen up those decision time frames – to really double down on the delivery, so we can catch up time so it doesn’t cost more.”
After those reassuring words, I think we can all be clear that while there might be spades in the ground by 2028 but the mass transit system in West Yorkshire won’t be a reality until at least the late 2030s and there are some pretty good odds it may not happen at all.
Are plans for what has been dubbed ‘Tracy’s Tram’ terminal?
Who knows.
But this Mayor of West Yorkshire, who is now in her second term, needs to get cracking on delivering stuff if her legacy is going to be more than just a few extra cycle lanes, support for the creative sector and a long talked about new franchised bus system called the Weaver Network.
Anyway, on a positive note, when I gazed at the photograph of Tracy on the BBC website page carrying the story about the tram delay, it reminded me of something.
Have a look at the photos above and, in the words of Robin Williams, you be the judge.
:::
GIVEN the delay to the new tram system you’d think that Leeds City Council would be focusing on making the city more easily accessible to those using other forms of transport.
Well the good news is that they are.
As long as you ride a bike.
Apparently work started this week on the latest phase of the Leeds City Links scheme to implement a one-way system which we are told will improve connectivity and sustainability.
Key upgrades include widened pavements, segregated cycle tracks and enhanced pedestrian crossings.
The good news is that the project will complete in early 2027 – or probably sooner than they finish the current work at Leeds railway station.
So if you are a commuter who works in the city centre, the positive news is that once you are in the city it will be easier and safer to walk around.
How you get there in the first place is the challenge.
A lot of people I speak to choose not to travel into the city for work or pleasure in the same way that they used to.
These are the people who spend the money that the city relies on.
And while Leeds continues to make itself a welcoming place for cyclists, how much money is spent by those riding bikes?
The last time I went to Sous le Nez, Leeds Playhouse, the City Varieties or the Everyman Cinema, I didn’t see any bicycle clips on the coat pegs.
The headline on the story about these changes said: “City centre goes one-way”.
I think we all know which way that is.
Taxi!
:::
I KNOW what you are thinking.
If this is Parkin being positive, what’s he like when he’s negative?
Well I’m aiming to cheer up as the year progresses.
But I can’t promise.
Have a great weekend.