“I took the opportunity to view the last Full Sefton Council Meeting and I was very disturbed by the fact that the Labour Leadership have refused to rule out the introduction of cycle lanes in Birkdale village.
There is no doubt that such a move would be very detrimental to the traders to whom we should be seeking to give the maximum degree of support in these difficult times.
They also totally failed to recognise the point that some of the other suggestions including those for York Road and Trafalgar Road which are in the area I hope to represent after the May Elections really would exacerbate significantly what is already a significant problem with car parking.
The possibility of cycle lanes in these areas is already causing distress to those who live off these roads and they in turn will simply be turned into what might be described as a car park for Smedley Hydro.
There is no demand from local people for cycle lanes on these roads as only a very small number of people actually use cycles and whilst they may have done so in the past when they were a lot younger they would actually introduce a new level of danger for both pedestrians and car users.
Southport does have many opportunities for cycle lanes if only based on the fact that our Town is basically flat but adding to existing traffic and parking difficulties is not the way to advance what in many respects is a very worthwhile proposition and as a consequence more thought must be given by the Council to the various routes of the Labour Party and in particular the Labour Councillors in Southport really do need to bring home to their Leadership that refusing to rule out Birkdale village is a big mistake and is causing much local resentment.”
- Mike Prendergast, Conservative Candidate for Dukes Ward
