Brian Coleman : What's in his attic?

Before we discuss the latest pearls of wisdom to spout from the gushing mouth of Brian Coleman, let me take you on a little deviation. Let's face it, up here in Barnet we seem to be partial to a little deviation now and then.

Our deviation takes us back to 1966. That fine year when England won the world cup. The summer was hot, the grass was green and the roses were red. A very sad thing happened. In the flat next door to our house, the nice old lady Mrs Bent (yes really) had a heart attack and died. She was a lovely old dear who had a garden full of finely maintained Standard Roses. I can remember being very upset as she disappeared and the flat was sold. A few weeks later, mum told me some exciting news. The flat had been sold and a young mum was moving in who had a little boy. I'd have a little friend next door. A couple of weeks later, through the fence I saw the new neighbour. He was about two years old. To this day, I recall our first conversation. "Hello, I'm Roger, whats your name". He looked up in a slightly perplexed manner and exclaimed "Chair".

Now Chair is probably my oldest friend. He lives in Brighton now, has just had a kid so I don't see him too often. His job? He designs tram systems. He's worked on the LA Metro, The Dublin Metro, Croydon Tramlink and most recently Cross River Tram. He's a real character. Last time we met, he told me about a presentation he'd given about the Cross River Tram. He started it by saying. "In a city like London their is really only one method of transport I would consider as practical. This" He then displayed the slide showing his black and gold Norton commando Motorbike. He then said "the next best option however ...." and proceeded with his pitch. He's lectured on public transportation systems and given countless seminars. Now I'm not too interested in these matters generally, but it's always a pleasure to talk to someone who is on top of their game and can give you meaningful explanations as to why a solution would work in a city you love. As a result of our last conversation, I realised that the cheapest, quickest to impliment and most flexible solution to many of Londons transport problems is to put in tram systems. Now I'm not an expert, but I'm an engineer and I can see when a solution makes sense.

Anyway that's enough deviation for one day. What has this got to do with Barnet's favourite numpty? Well he was quoted in the Edgware Times as saying about the proposed "Brent Cross Railway" scheme.

Brian Coleman, GLA Member for Barnet and Camden condemned the plan as "bonkers". He said "It's not feasible, it won't happen. The developers aren't backing it and neither is any mainstream politician. Idea's like this are thought up by men who probably still have a train set in their attic. Trams are yesterdays news and they do not belong in Barnet. The whole thing is bonkers"

Like most of Brian Coleman's pronouncements, it is ignorant and rude. Lets have a look at what he says in detail. Firstly developers will always be against anything that dents their profits. The job of people like Coleman is to get some payback from them. Improved public transport would be a good start. Does Mr Coleman honestly think developers give a stuff about whats good for Barnet? If he does he's more stupid than we all thought. As to no mainstream politician supporting it, the Times said in it's on line article that Tory John Hart, a long standing councillor and a colleague of Colemans was supporting it. I know who I'd trust out of the two? Geoff Cooke, a well respected Labour member is also championing the scheme. David Cameron was quoted in todays Guardian as saying "To deliver a low carbon economy you have to have a vision". It seems Mr Coleman is even out of step with his own leader, as the BCR scheme will save millions of tons of CO2. The implication of Coleman's statement about the people who devise tram scheme's having "train sets in their attic" conjures images of socially inept nerds with no interest in anything other than mad schemes to bring back steam engines. Well as I mentioned above, my very oldest friend is one of the countries top tram system designers. When we last went for a beer (or six) what did we discuss? My kids, his impending fatherhood, Motorhead, punk rock, the Acid House dance scene, the french resistance in WW2, great pubs, the merits of Ken Vs Boris, Mill Hill, what we did when we were kids, his Norton Commando bike. It was one of my best evenings out for a long time. When it comes to things in attics, what has Coleman got in his?

Are Trams yesterdays news? Well technically I suppose they are. Boris Johnson opened a new station on the DLR in a huge blaze of glory and issued a fine press release. He didn't seem to be saying that the DLR was a thing of the past. I have drawn the conclusion that Coleman is incapable of a single forward looking thought. His solution to Barnet's transport problem is to open all the ratruns to speeding traffic. By his own admission, his views are driven by developers, who are only interested in lining their own pockets.

Unlike Brian Coleman we don't all have a cab waiting for us at the public expense to shuttle us around. The trouble with these freeloaders such as Coleman is that they have lost touch with normal working people who have to go to work in rush hour.