Traumatic trams

(source)

One billion pounds has been spent on misery, disappointment and frustration. These are the feelings of the majority of people in Edinburgh on the dreaded topic of the Edinburgh trams. I cannot even start to think about where the money could have been spent elsewhere, in a city that, let us be honest, is not in great need of a tram system. The project has been spiralling out of control for years under extremely poor management. Surely, someone has to take the blame or this shambolic proposal. The Government? The contractors? The project is now the most expensive transport project in the world per mile at an eye watering, £125 million per mile. It is not exactly benefitting the hard working taxpayers or the environment.



Firstly, Edinburgh council try to claim that the trams will improve the carbon footprint of the city. 'The Edinburgh tram project will make a positive environmental contribution to the city's future growth by mitigating the forecast increase of 1 million vehicle kilometres per day, anticipated by 2020.' I agree with the viewpoint of the council, something has to be done about the carbon footprint in the city. Although I do not agree that building the tram network is the right way to do so. I believe along with many people from Edinburgh that there are better, cheaper and greener alternatives to the building of the trams. What is wrong with having well maintained cycle routes throughout the city? This will not only greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the city, but it will also save a massive amount of money, which in this economic climate is an extremely large amount of money for a supposed infrastructure upgrade. New cycle routes around the city would not only save the government a lot of money but would also encourage commuters to cycle into work instead of taking the car or the tram, if it is ever completed.

The congestion caused by the building of the trams has had a worrying effect on people and businesses in the capital. The fact that cars and buses have had to sit at a standstill in the middle of the city is a total farce. The tram project is fully to blame for this unnecessary congestion. The impact on small businesses has been depressing for many hard working people. The trams are not fully to blame for this agony although I do believe that they have caused some of the damage. Surely, the government has made a fatal mistake in allowing this out of control project to continue.

The Edinburgh tram project has suffered huge criticism for not only the poorly designed routes but also the terrible management that has cost the government millions of pounds over the original budget. The most recent of them being the contractors making a complete mess of the concrete on Shandwick Place. 'Blundering workmen have derailed the trams project by cracking vital concrete sleepers - setting back the clearance of vital road works and dealing a blow to any notion of the trams running by Christmas.' This is just more depressing news for the public especially as it seems to be a very silly error for a project of such a grand scale and cost. This news frustrates me as the government were saying earlier on in the year that it would be finished by Christmas. If finished by then, it would really benefit the businesses in the centre of our great capital. I really wish the government would open their eyes and see the businesses that are suffering around this project. It is sickening to see so many claims not being met. Will this project ever get finished or are the contractors and the council going to keep getting this agonisingly wrong?

Lastly, the government have pumped so much money into this project and it does make me wonder why. The project cost at this time is £776 million, double the original plan! Joke. The original cost was definitely going to be very hard to meet especially for the scale of the project but the government has gone mental. All this money being spent on unnecessary transport upgrade is sickening when there are much more serious problems that are in desperate need of funding. The government must be to blame for this mismanagement because they were the people who chose the contractors and in turn, they have made a complete “omnishambles” of the project.

To conclude, I would say the council have got this project wrong. They have caused a lot of damage to hard working people by causing small businesses to suffer economic hardship from which they may never recover. They have let the costs spiral out of control and they have left the public angry at the mismanagement of the project. In my opinion, I would also say that they have failed to look at the cheaper alternatives to the problem the trams are trying to resolve. Money wasted. Businesses ruined. All thanks to the traumatic trams.