Poems from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition

A special mention goes to Sonya Sutherland for her poems, which the judges felt deserved a celebration as they spoke to the spirit of the competition...

Rail Trail

By Sonya Sutherland

 

Rees Jeffreys had a vision, of how our lives can be

With pathways that connect us, to opportunity….

Journeys made from town to town

Enjoying moments, calming down

Breathing in and seeing sights

Moving clouds and changing light

Flowering fields and hills and lakes

Curiosity, a journey wakes

Watching wildlife, feeling breeze

Upon a face, as worries ease

And stresses start to melt away

Dissolving in an Autumn Day

For rail trail projects let’s campaign

So we can safely walk again

Or ride our bikes or horses there

Let’s take them out of disrepair

And journey Britain through our trails

Up the hills and down the Dales

Over bridges and to the sea

Let our rail trails set us free!

 

Local Roads

By Sonya Sutherland

Rees Jeffreys will - enhance our lives

Bestow us all with scenic drives

Spend money on our local roads

They’ll pay us back a thousand-fold

And bring adventure to our door

And make it possible to explore

Bring choices to the routes we make

And mode of transport we will take

Unlock potential in these routes

Stop for lunch and spotting newts

Take pictures of a wondrous day

And feel your troubles melt away

Let journeys take you near or far

Ride or walk or take the car

And eat and drink and spend our time

Supporting communities, yours and mine

 

 

 

Overview

By Sonya Sutherland

Rees Jeffreys sought to understand

The overview of our great land

There’s power in the simple way

Let’s pave the path to future days

And take us up into the air

And see our roads in full from there

Applying logic, deliberating

Each Authority collaborating

To choose the overall design

Of future journeys, yours and mine

Let’s help our future traffic flow

And for our future, seeds we’ll sow

Securing options that can serve

The greater good, so routes emerge

That make most sense holistically

Transporting goods and family

Along the routes we choose to take

Into our future, for all our sakes

  

 

 The Case For Funding Roads

By Sonya Sutherland

Rees Jeffreys was a champion

He called for motorways

To keep up with house building

And the population raise

What would his advice be

On what we're doing now?

Building needed houses

But needed roads, they won't allow

A balance needs to be there

And now, before too late

We need a Jeffries study

And a plan we can debate

Proportion roads to housing

and population too

And campaign for roads funding

Lots of catching up to do

Roads return investment

With jobs and taxes - TRUE

Make known these great statistics

And the public will campaign too!