A petition signed by nearly 1,000 people calling for planned and current cycle lanes in Southport to be scrapped was debated at last night’s full Sefton Council meeting.
Southport councillor and restaurateur Sinclair Hesketh D’Albuquerque presented the petition, which calls for the council to stop the proposed cycle lane infrastructure (currently being consulted on) being installed across Southport from Crossens to Ainsdale.
He also wants to see the removal of the current temporary cycle lanes on Queens Road and Hoghton Street in Southport town centre.
He told the meeting: “Why are Sefton Council making it more difficult for people to drive here and visit? No-one (or very few) cycle from Preston, Liverpool, or other areas to visit Southport.
“The temporary cycle lanes in Southport town centre have been disastrous. They have damaged local businesses at a time they need help and support.
“I have been contacted by those who have mobility issues who were not angry, they were genuinely scared about no longer being able to access properties and services along the routes. “The reasons residents and businesses are against these proposals are best explained by starting from the northern most affected area of Southport which is Preston New Road.
“The plans published in the consultation state that the council will be widening the current cycle lanes on the road. Why has it not already been established that this will make it impossible for public service vehicles or heavy goods vehicles to pass at any point on Preston New Road – not difficult,m impossible!
“Churchtown Lights – the consultation has planned “islands” within the four corners of Churchtown Lights. This planned installation will limit the junction to one lane.
“This will cause more congestion, more cars with their engines running while waiting needlessly at the lights while they change from red to green to red again!
“How will this contribute to helping the climate emergency plans that Sefton Council has? “Cambridge Road – there are islands in the middle with no proposal to remove them on this stretch. Approaching pedestrian crossings, the road narrows. Does this mean that cyclists using the cycle lane will have to swerve into the traffic lane when they approach crossings?
“I have been contacted by residents along this road who are concerned about care staff, who are generally on a timed home care visit and need to park close to the property they are visiting. “Park Crescent – Why are we installing cycle lanes around Hesketh Park? Many people exercise in the park, they do not cycle to the park, run or walk around the park, and then cycle home.
“Many of our elderly, less firm, and residents with mobility issues use this green space, why are we depriving them of it by making it harder for them to visit? I have had complaints from residents who live on Park Crescent who tell me that the increase in parking outside their properties on the opposite side of the road will cause them serious issues when they leave their properties, it will make it far more hazardous for them.
“Queens Road and Hoghton Street – aside from the fact that most cars completely ignore the new no entry signs, there are other issues.
“If I want to drive to Hoghton Street, I now must travel a great deal further to get to the same place, while using a more congested Albert Road due to changes made which push extra traffic onto it.
“How does this do anything to help with Sefton’s Green vision?
“What about the loss in revenue from parking to the council which I believe is about £170,000 per year!
“Liverpool Road – will have new cycle lanes implemented which will have a huge, detrimental impact on businesses and residents on the approach to Ainsdale.
“An affected business like Healthpoint, which collected over 160 manual signatures in its business from people who do not want these proposals to go ahead.
“That leaves two serious and critical questions about this scheme.
“The government has stipulated that data needs to have been collected showing the usage of the cycle lanes. Besides Sefton Council’s data being seriously flawed. There is no published data before November of 20 that highlights the increased activity due to the temporary lanes on Hoghton Street. Obviously, the monthly usage has gone up since last November, we are now in Summer!
“We know that the council has no data from before November 20 so how is the council able to prove that these lanes are a success and wanted?
“Secondly, the council must deliver an accurate consultation demonstrating facts, for residents to make an informed decision.
“I have heard from many residents, one of whom, Kathryn Law, told me only yesterday, that she had still not received any consultation documentation and neither have her neighbours. They live on Park Crescent, an area that will be considerably affected by the proposals and yet they have not been invited to respond! Not great for Sefton Council’s policies around accessible information.
“The consultation document is littered with a significant number of inaccuracies. I watched Sefton Council’s online marketing video which is designed to show how good the current and proposed lanes will be using recorded video drone footage? It was not a surprise to see that there is not one cyclist using either the proposed cycle lane route, the current temporary lanes, or the pavements! Not one!
“This supports the emails and telephone calls received by me that suggest the same.
“Finally, to make it clear, the Southport residents I am representing do not want a moratorium, they do not want these proposals to go ahead at all. I will be calling on five members of the council that we urgently sign a requisition and call an extraordinary council meeting where these profoundly serious issues can be debated properly.”
At last night’s meeting, Southport councillor John Pugh led a motion calling for a temporary halt to the cycle lanes scheme.
He urged: “Recognising the concerns voiced by the public about planned cycle lanes in Southport, this council will impose a moratorium on the plans to allow for sensible consideration of said plans by a cross-party working party who scrutinising all currently available evidence and feedback shall report back to elected members prior to any final decision being taken.”
Speaking about the cycle lane proposals last year, Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services said:“Our vision for Sefton is a confident and connected borough, where people can enjoy the use of many cycle and walking friendly routes, where we all work together to keep Sefton clean and green with a commitment to low pollution and better air quality.
“The Emergency Active Travel Fund will allow us to make changes to two routes in Sefton, one in Southport and one in Bootle which will encourage cycling and walking and make significant improvements to our streets to enable people to use cars less and move around in a different way.
“We want to encourage people to use active forms of travel by increasing the opportunity for people to walk or cycle, in line with the Council’s commitments to improving Health and Wellbeing and tackling Climate Change.”
Simon O’Brien, Liverpool City Region Cycling and Walking Commissioner said:“It’s fantastic to see that work will be beginning on new pop-up bike lanes and foot paths. Infrastructure like this will help people in our city region to travel actively more safely and with confidence.
“It’s also an amazing opportunity to test out our vision for a 600km network of high-quality, permanent walking and cycling routes for the Liverpool City Region.
“Coronavirus has had a huge impact on our city region, but we now have the opportunity to look at how we can change things for the better in the future – and rethinking the way we travel and taking more journeys by bike and on foot needs to be part of that.”
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