Politicians set for heated debate over Southport Cycle Lanes

The controversial announcement that the cycle lanes on Hoghton Street and Queens Road will be here to stay is now set to be hotly debated.

Councillors will meet at Bootle Town Hall tomorrow night (Thursday January 18th) where opposition politicians will challenge the council on its polarising decision.

Opposition leader on Sefton Council, Liberal Democrat, John Pugh has described the consultation Sefton conducted on cycle lanes and their publicity surrounding it as as ‘baloney’.

Conservative Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast, is calling on all Southport councillors to support his motion at Thursday’s full council meeting to have the lanes along Hoghton Street, Chapel Street, Talbot Street and Queens Road removed as soon as possible.

Councillor Prendergast said, “It is abundantly clear that the people of Southport do not want these lanes. They are not wanted by residents and they have been hugely damaging to local businesses.

Cllr Pugh said “ “The figures provided in it are as misleading as anything we get out of Kim Jong Un’s North Korea. The 2.5m users for the cycle lanes claimed in the Council press release are overwhelmingly pedestrians including farcically shoppers on Chapel St ! As there were many monitoring sensors from Queens Rd – through Hoghton and Chapel St-to Talbot St – the same individuals could be counted multiple times”

A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “With the majority of residents who responded to the consultation saying they were very or fairly satisfied with the route, the high numbers of uses and a 40% reduction in the number of accidents since its introduction, the Council is keen to make the significant benefits of this scheme permanent.

“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.”