Guest Blog by Stephen Hesketh, Sefton Climate Action Group
One of the most controversial topics in local politics, on #StandUpForSouthport and in the local press in recent times has surely been that of cycle lanes.
Looking for solutions which benefit the entire local community, members of the local non-party ‘Sefton Climate Action’ group discussed this and related issues during a recent online call.
Members concluded that rather than focussing exclusively on cycle lanes, it could be beneficial to consider cycling as part of wider discussions regarding liveable neighbourhoods, the safe use of our residential streets by pedestrians, cyclists and responsible drivers alike and how the issues overlap with the need for clean air, with central and local government efforts to encourage walking and cycling and with the environmental need for us to reduce our dependency on private motor vehicles, particularly for shorter local journeys.
The comparatively recent but growing issue of pavement parking was also noted.
It was concluded that over a period of years, cars and vans have, almost imperceptibly, become undisputed kings of our streets and public spaces so that, in spite of so many community-supported 20mph limits, traffic was now frequently travelling at higher average speeds.
More speed, more danger, higher fuel consumption, more pollution and more noise.
On road safety, the statistics are clear and research has shown that on urban roads with low average traffic speeds, any 1 mph reduction in average speed can reduce the collision frequency by around 6% (Taylor, Lynam and Baruya, 2000).
Another key factor is the chance of survival of anyone involved in an accident – at 20mph there is a 2.5 percent chance of a pedestrian being killed, at 30mph a 20 percent chance, at 35mph a 50 percent chance and at 40mph a 90 percent chance of pedestrian death.
(https://www.roadwise.co.uk/using-the-road/speeding/the-chance-of-a-pedestrian-surviving/ )
On the question of atmospheric pollution, work undertaken by King’s College London in 2019 revealed up to 1,040 deaths a year in Liverpool City Region alone can be linked to exposure to ultra-fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and smaller) and to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – causing untold human misery and costing to the local economy an average of £480 million each year.
In the same report, Simon Stevens, the then CEO of NHS England, is quoted as stating: “Air pollution can now be linked to thousands of strokes, cardiac arrests and asthma attacks a year, so it’s clear that the climate emergency is in fact also a health emergency.”
https://www.blf.org.uk/policy/health-economic-impacts-toxic-air-in-liverpool-city-region
The group also discussed recently announced changes to the Highway Code designed to strengthen the rights of pedestrians and cyclists via a ‘hierarchy of road users’ placing greater responsibility for road safety on the drivers of the more dangerous modes of transport – including cars. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58021450
The changes to the Highway Code came in on 15th September; the new hierarchy runs: pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders, motorcyclists, cars and taxis, vans and minibuses, large passenger and heavy goods vehicles.
Other important changes include vehicles giving way to pedestrians crossing, or waiting to cross, the road, but also, establishes safe passing speeds and distances when overtaking cyclists and horse riders, and gives them priority when travelling straight ahead at junctions.
On the issue of ‘pavement parking’, the group concluded this makes it more difficult to ‘see and be seen’ and, in the worst cases, forces users of mobility scooters, people with prams and young children, and even ordinary pedestrians off pavements and in to the road where they are more likely to be involved in an accident. Additionally, the group thought pavement parking opened up roads to faster moving traffic due to the reduced need to give way to oncoming vehicles.
The group therefore felt it would be useful if Sefton Council could explore measures to reduce urban road speeds to 20mph – particularly in those many areas where residents had already voted for them, to consult on the phasing out of uncontrolled pavement parking and work to ensure genuine pavement users always have a reasonable space to pass on pavements. Finally, that if less than an agreed width, pavements should not be considered as being suitable for vehicle parking.
Sefton Climate Action concluded the above measures would result in reduced traffic speeds, better driving practices and aid moves towards active transport and safer, less polluted, quieter and healthier environment for the entire local community.
- Sefton Climate Action is not politically aligned and is part of the Friends of the Earth-sponsored Climate Action group https://takeclimateaction.uk/
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
