To do this effectively, we need to be able to engage with other stakeholders during the forthcoming consultations and we can't do that just with public opinion - we need hard facts and figures. So, over the coming months, we will be collecting our own; either using the methods already employed by the relevant authorities, or in a way that shows the deficiency of the methods that have been used to date. A good example of this latter case, are the manual traffic censuses undertaken by the Department for Transport that we highlighted in an earlier post. You should read that original article, because it explains why, even if the DfT methodology is used, the results are skewed in a way that underestimates the traffic problems. The reason that it is so inappropriate for a road like the A303 is quite simple, the censuses are conducted in the middle of the week and not on public holidays or school holidays - exactly the periods when the Highway to Hell is at its busiest.
So, if the DfT can't be trusted to conduct rigorous traffic censuses, we would like to have a bash ourselves. We would like to do this in the most professional way we can and are seeking to find a few folks with experience of conducting traffic censuses on behalf of DfT in the past - who are familiar with the methods used.
Please let us know if you have such skills, or know of anyone who does and who would be prepared to help us out?
We also learned yesterday that Doug Clifton, a local resident and student at the University of Southampton, is doing a dissertation on the impacts of the developments at Stonehenge between 2009 and 2013.
To achieve this, he has set up a Stonehenge Local Residents Survey on the Survey Monkey web site. If you are a local resident, please can you follow the link and complete the survey? We are keen to encourage Doug in his efforts and will be happy to publicise his results once he is free to use them.
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