A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, the wise leader, Brinbrossich, saw that there were problems with transport in his kingdom of Shamloft Water. So he called his adviser, Decoskallye, and asked him what he thought should be done.
Decoskallye had recently come under the spell of the Green Witch Wafacaca. Wafacaca cared desperately about the future of the planet, and had created all kinds of magic incantations to try to keep noxious fumes away from the kingdom. The Green Witch worshipped the bicycle.
Decoskallye’s immediate answer was to do everything possible to eliminate cars which did indeed cause some of the noxious fumes that the Green Witch was so worried about. As well as recommending special routes for the revered bicycle, he also advised that roads be closed to prevent the evil cars from travelling where they wanted to as well as installing speed humps to slow the cars down. Decoskallye also suggested creating crossings like the far kingdom of Arkmend.
Brinbrossich listened to the words of his adviser, but he saw that many of his subjects were highly dependent on motorised vehicles, and he did not want to create misery for the majority of his subjects.So Brinbrossich decided to consult with representatives of all the people about how to create a better transport system for everyone.
First of all Brinbrossich summoned Blasidde. She arrived in her wheelchair. What do you think of Decoskallye’s proposals asked Brinbrossich. Well, said Blasidde, many people with disabilities are very dependent on cars. They cannot go about their lives independently without them. If you make it difficult for them to travel about the borough you are using up lots of their valuable time. If people need to be dropped or collected, then not being able to park is going to put certain places, such as Gallivethe, out of reach for them. If you close roads, then carers are going to take much longer to get to their patients, and will have even less time to spend with them. Some people with disabilities often need emergency care, and closing roads will make rapid response teams journeys take longer. Also you will remember that in the reign of your predecessor, Belucky, I brought more than 50 people together to discuss all these issues. We produced a Holy Book, The Access Guidelines. These state quite clearly that speed humps cause huge pain to many people with disabilities and should be avoided. They also say that shared surfaces, such as those used in the northern kingdom of Arkmend, are very dangerous for people with sensory disabilities and learning disabilities.
Brinbrossich thanked Blasidde for her useful advice and pondered how to reconcile Decoskallye’s proposals with the information he had now received.
Brinbrossich decided he needed to speak with more experts. He called Crampadie to see him. Is it true that road closures and speed humps are going to cause problems for emergency vehicles Brinbrossich asked? Well of course they would, said Crampadie. Obviously if we have to take longer routes, and are slowed down by speed humps, then it will take us longer to get to emergencies. It is also very difficult to administer treatment on the way back to the hospital if the vehicle is constantly bumping up and down. Speed humps cause a lot of additional pain to patients who are already suffering.
Brinbrossich pondered deeply on what experts had told him so far. Then he summoned Fetyas to speak with him. Brinbrossich told Fetyas that he had a number of conundrums. Of course it was desirable to reduce car speeds to save possible injury to his subjects. However Blasidde had explained that speed humps cause pain to many people. Fetyas told Brinbrossich that there were all kinds of wonderful new technologies that could reduce speed without road humps. With the 30 million golden guineas that the the kingdom of Shamloft Water hoped to obtain from the Royam of Nondol, it would be perfectly possible to buy new cameras and the speed detectors that switched on red traffic lights if anyone was going faster than they were supposed to. Fetyas also agreed with Blasidde that shared surfaces were very dangerous. It was really important to have physical segregation between different types of road user; cars could be a danger to cyclists and pedestrians; cyclists could be a danger to pedestrians; some pedestrians could easily cause accidents if it wasn’t clear were they were supposed to walk.
Lastly Brinbrossich asked Arinacle to come and speak with him. What was to be done about Wafacaca’s holy desire to keep noxious fumes away from the kingdom? Arinacle explained that all kinds of things contributed to noxious fumes, not just cars. She advised strongly against road closures, as this only forced all the cars into fewer roads causing much more pollution for the people who lived and worked alongside them. Also congestion would be increased, and cars travelling slowly produce much more exhaust. Arinacle suggested instead that Brinbrossich put some of the 30 million golden guineas towards encouraging electric cars; offering interest free loans, installing charging points and allowing free parking. This was surely the future. Of course, Arinacle said, it would be good in the meantime to have a programme of education to encourage people to avoid driving when possible. However draconian measures and road closures would create so many problems for so many of Brinbrossich’s subjects that they would come to hate him and resist his plans as much as possible.
The wise ruler Brinbrossich then asked his servants to draw up proposals which took into account the advice of all the different experts and made recommendations for all his subjects to consider. The document was distributed to all Brinbrossich’s subjects without any leading questions or unsubstantiated comments. Everyone was invited to contribute their experiences and suggestions. Because the consultation was being held before the proposals were finalised, and because the information was presented in such an impartial and properly evidenced manner, and because Brinbrossich had instructed his servants to listen carefully to his subjects and record their views faithully, the whole exercise was completed in an extremely harmonious manner. Everyone felt that their views had been heard and taken into account. Even Wafacaca realised that she could not impose her religion on everyone and encouraged her devotees to be more tolerant of other faiths in future.
Brinbrossich then asked his servants to amend the original proposals as necessary to maximise meeting the needs of as many of his subjects as possible. The Royam of Nondol was very impressed with the way the kingdom of Shamloft Water had designed their scheme, and recommended that others follow their example. The Royam of Nondol awarded the kingdom of Shamloft Water the 30 million golden guineas for their excellent scheme.
The final scheme had no road closures, lots of physically segregated cycle routes, technological solutions to speeding, policies to encourage electric cars, and a massive education programme to persuade people to consider alternatives to driving whenever possible. There was no toxic hatred between different groups of Brinbrossich’s subjects. All the people embraced the proposals and accepted that everyone had different transport needs. No-one called for Brinbrossich’s deposition. And they all lived happily ever after.
