A decision will be made next week on whether to make the temporary cycle lanes in Southport town centre permanent.
In 2020, Sefton Council installed new cycle lanes on roads including Hoghton Street, Chapel Street, Talbot Street and Queens Road.
The local authority says its Active Travel scheme, between Southport’s Queens Road and Talbot Street, has been used more than 2,500,000 times since it was introduced.
Data along the route also revealed a 40% reduction in the number of accidents since the scheme was introduced.
The current Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO) for the cycle lanes expire in early 2024 which is why Sefton Council must now decide whether the scheme is retained, modified or removed.
It will be discussed at a special meeting of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Southport Town hall on Monday (19th February 2024).
Three Southport Lib Dem councillors, John Pugh, Iain Brodie-Browne and Simon Shaw, have ‘called in’ the scheme after raising their concerns.
They said: “Bearing in mind the significant complications and consequences of this decision we seek to gain a better understanding of the decision and its implications.
“We wish to question the manifestly weak reasoning behind the decision given the report does not adequately address the crucial issues of modal shift, traffic diversion and business impact.
“We believe the decision has been made on the basis of a consultation process that provides only limited support for retaining the status quo and is itself flawed.”
In the event of the Committee being concerned about the decision, they must decide which of the following courses of action is to be taken:
- a) referral of the matter to the Cabinet Member – Locality Services for reconsideration, setting out the nature of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s concerns;
- b) referral of the matter to Council for the Council to decide whether it wishes to object to the decision
In the event of the Committee being satisfied with the decision, the decision can proceed for implementation immediately following the meeting.
The committee is looking to decide whether to approve the retention of the current Southport route.
It will also look whether to support the progression of the further work to explore short, medium, and longer-term improvements to the route, including better incorporating active travel provision within wider public realm improvements within the town centre be supported.
Earlier this year, a Sefton Council spokesperson said: “By encouraging people to make local journeys by walking, cycling or wheeling, the scheme is contributing to local people’s health, the local and wider environment, as well as making safer conditions.
“And it is supporting improvements to connectivity throughout the town and its public realm alongside the work of the Town Deal Les Transformation des Southport scheme.
“While the scheme has been a success and has proved popular with many people locally, we do not consider this to be evidence that the scheme is perfect and are listening to all feedback received to see what further improvements can be made.
“Some businesses who responded raised concerns and the Cabinet Member is being asked to support steps to explore short, medium and long term improvements to address those issues.”
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Do you need advertising, PR or media support? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrownn@gmail.com
