Think globally, act locally
The local press is mirroring the national media this week, in condemnation of proposed road pricing (albeit something that may be a decade away).
Environmentalists, climatologists and most within the scientific community now agree that climate change is irreversible. We need to act now to ameliorate or mitigate its effects. One way is either to limit the number of journeys we make by car, or ensure that the polluter (i.e. motorist) pays. Hence road pricing tries to tackle both of these.
It is not this blog’s place to comment on the pros and cons of road pricing per se. Nevertheless, Rhuthun’s economy is car-based. It has been for, what, the last 40 years, well before the railway finished. Any road pricing will have a remarkable effect.
There is little large-scale or well-salaried employment within the town or immediate hinterland. This means may people in the area chose to commute out, some as far as Manchester, though Chester, Wrecsam, Ysbytai Glan Clwyd a Maelor, Llandudno/Bae Colywn Bay and even Liverpool are more manageable. It’s reasonable to assume that the salaries these workers generate, at least in part, are spent in Rhuthun.
Then there’s the inward attraction of Rhuthun’s county hall, Ysgol Brynhyryd and Ruthin School. We can assume that at least some employees commute in to the town, by car.
It would be nice if there wasn’t all this car born activity but it’s actually a fact of life here. Rhuthin is largely a dormitory settlement. The car has enabled the separation of home and work, and people like to live in the natural beauty and relative safety of Dyffryn Clwyd/Vale of Clwyd. With what little road improvements there have been*, with increased disposable incomes and with well-engineered automobiles, people’s expectations have changed insofar as travel is concerned. No longer need they move house if they change jobs. In fact, in today's employment market, it would be folly to do so.
It appears we’ve created a monster and there seems no way out. In the same way that Rhuthun became the county town of old (pre-1974) Denbighshire owing to its relative centrality and relative ease with which parts of the county could reach Rhuthun**, so it is that Rhuthun's population is accessible to a diverse range of employment organisations, shopping destinations and leisure activities.
In the face of such overwhelming problems, what can we do locally? Shopping locally is one. Rather than travel to B&Q in Wrecsam or Y Rhyl for a bag of screws, visit Richard Williams or King’s or the décor centre on Lôn Parcwr in Rhuthun instead. We have supermarkets tripping over each other, three within 500 yards of each other. Why go elsewhere? We have exclusive fashions in the town, too – why travel miles?
On the basis that most people work, what, 230 days a year, spending one day a fortnight working from home will also be of help. Not everyone will have the opportunity to do this but those who can will cut their emissions by 10 per cent. Anyone reading this will have the basic technology to do so – a home PC.
And, for the other 90 per cent, what about car sharing? Unpopular it may be, but so are the consequences of not doing so – in financial and climate terms.
________
* - West of Yr Wyddgrug/Mold and south of Llanelwy/St Asaph
** - Access was not the most important reason why Rhuthun became the county town but it was important nevertheless.
The local press is mirroring the national media this week, in condemnation of proposed road pricing (albeit something that may be a decade away).
Environmentalists, climatologists and most within the scientific community now agree that climate change is irreversible. We need to act now to ameliorate or mitigate its effects. One way is either to limit the number of journeys we make by car, or ensure that the polluter (i.e. motorist) pays. Hence road pricing tries to tackle both of these.
It is not this blog’s place to comment on the pros and cons of road pricing per se. Nevertheless, Rhuthun’s economy is car-based. It has been for, what, the last 40 years, well before the railway finished. Any road pricing will have a remarkable effect.
There is little large-scale or well-salaried employment within the town or immediate hinterland. This means may people in the area chose to commute out, some as far as Manchester, though Chester, Wrecsam, Ysbytai Glan Clwyd a Maelor, Llandudno/Bae Colywn Bay and even Liverpool are more manageable. It’s reasonable to assume that the salaries these workers generate, at least in part, are spent in Rhuthun.
Then there’s the inward attraction of Rhuthun’s county hall, Ysgol Brynhyryd and Ruthin School. We can assume that at least some employees commute in to the town, by car.
It would be nice if there wasn’t all this car born activity but it’s actually a fact of life here. Rhuthin is largely a dormitory settlement. The car has enabled the separation of home and work, and people like to live in the natural beauty and relative safety of Dyffryn Clwyd/Vale of Clwyd. With what little road improvements there have been*, with increased disposable incomes and with well-engineered automobiles, people’s expectations have changed insofar as travel is concerned. No longer need they move house if they change jobs. In fact, in today's employment market, it would be folly to do so.
It appears we’ve created a monster and there seems no way out. In the same way that Rhuthun became the county town of old (pre-1974) Denbighshire owing to its relative centrality and relative ease with which parts of the county could reach Rhuthun**, so it is that Rhuthun's population is accessible to a diverse range of employment organisations, shopping destinations and leisure activities.
In the face of such overwhelming problems, what can we do locally? Shopping locally is one. Rather than travel to B&Q in Wrecsam or Y Rhyl for a bag of screws, visit Richard Williams or King’s or the décor centre on Lôn Parcwr in Rhuthun instead. We have supermarkets tripping over each other, three within 500 yards of each other. Why go elsewhere? We have exclusive fashions in the town, too – why travel miles?
On the basis that most people work, what, 230 days a year, spending one day a fortnight working from home will also be of help. Not everyone will have the opportunity to do this but those who can will cut their emissions by 10 per cent. Anyone reading this will have the basic technology to do so – a home PC.
And, for the other 90 per cent, what about car sharing? Unpopular it may be, but so are the consequences of not doing so – in financial and climate terms.
________
* - West of Yr Wyddgrug/Mold and south of Llanelwy/St Asaph
** - Access was not the most important reason why Rhuthun became the county town but it was important nevertheless.
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