Call for work to improve Southport’s Lord Street Safety

Call for work to improve Southport’s Lord Street Safety

A councillor has called for the anti-skidding surface to be replaced on Southport’s main street amid concern that it is dangerous and looks unsightly.

Cllr David Barton, a campaigner for the restoration and regeneration of the town, revealed that the surface on Lord Street had been down since its last resurfacing back during the Millenium and had begun to break up.

He said that although official accident data showed that only one of the 36 accidents recorded on Lord Street in the last three years involved skidding, his own independent research had discovered that there had been a further 18 unreported accidents on parts of the road where the anti-skidding treatment has worn down.

Cllr Barton, who represents Dukes Ward on Sefton Council, said: “I have spoken to numerous residents, especially commuters, about the safety of the road in all weather conditions, especially cold, wet, windy winter where rainfall has made the road surface more of a challenge and there is widespread concern about the state of the road and the impact it is having.

“It is essential that pedestrian and motorist safety is achieved and crucial that Southport continues to play to its strengths as a Classic Resort town and becomes a smart destination for other seaside towns across the UK to look up to.

“That includes the road surface on Lord Street, which is central to the attraction of the town and has prompted people to remark that Southport is a “tired-looking” town.”

Cllr Barton is calling for spending to be allocated from the council’s Capital Spending budget to renew the anti-skid surface, which has deteriorated over time along several cross-sections, especially at the various junctions/crossroads with the side roads and sets of traffic lights where turnings are frequently made.

He said: “I have requested a more durable longer-lasting material to be utilised wherever possible.

“The council currently uses an anti-skid surface treatment which meets the appropriate specification and has said that it cannot afford to maintain an enhanced specification product.

“But I feel that it is essential that pedestrian and motorist safety is achieved and that the council invests in making Southport a cleaner, smarter and safer place to live and work.

“This work would help to reconnect the whole high street and its surrounding side roads as was the original intention.”

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