£1.5m traffic lights for Crosby Village
At a meeting of the Licensing & Regulatory Committee on 12th June 2023 the following items were agreed:
“(1) Introduction of a signal controlled junction with push button crossing facilities to replace the existing double mini roundabout arrangement at the junction of Islington, Church Road with Coronation Road. (
2) Modifications to the junction of The Bypass/ Liverpool Road (A565) and Coronation Road including improved crossing facilities.”
Funding for this project, totalling £1.5m, will be provided from the Liverpool City Region’s sustainable transport settlement.
It is unclear why a project of this magnitude should be left to the Licensing Committee to debate, rather than a more visible committee or Cabinet. The Licensing Committee normally deals with Private/public hire vehicles, gaming, entertainment, food, liquor and miscellaneous licensing.
They do have authority to consider the outcome of consultation and the resultant proposals in respect of the following schemes: a) the making of Traffic Regulation Orders; b) details of improvements to highways; c) cycle routes. However, there is no objective analysis of any consultation presented to the Committee regarding the proposed highway scheme for Crosby Village.
The proposal is described as affecting Blundellsands and Victoria Ward but no Councillors from these Wards serve on the Licensing Committee. In other words, this decision has been made by Councillors who have no interest or understanding of the Crosby Village area. Nothing new on that front.
Have local residents and businesses been consulted about the proposals? The report claims that:
“Consultation on the highway proposals formed part of the wider consultation on development proposals for the village centred on the creation of a new library and health centre facilities on the current Green Car Park. On line and in person discussions were held with stakeholders and members of the public”
What questions did the Council ask during the consultation? How many people responded? When was the consultation held? What options were offered? There is no reference to this in the Licensing Committee.
The Council have not published the results of this so-called consultation, which appears to have centred on the proposed library and health centre and not a highway scheme. Shopkeepers we have spoken to are unaware of the proposals and cannot recall any consultation on the highway scheme.
Next, why has the Council looked only at this small part of the Village highway network, and not reviewed access and accessibility across the area?
For several years the Council has paid for temporary traffic cameras to be erected in the car parks and perimeter roadways as part of a study into traffic flows and accessibility. The results of these studies have not been disclosed.
Whatever became of the study looking into re-opening Moor Lane to one-way traffic?
Why has there not been a review of bus stops to serve the area? If Islington is to be the site of a major Health Centre it will attract a far greater number of vehicles than presently use that car park. How does this traffic light scheme enhance the car park?
Where is there no reference to improvements to the other car parks?
What about the needs of cyclists? Cyclists needs appear not to have been recognised. In fact the proposals will make life more difficult and dangerous for cyclists as various parts of Islington, Liverpool Road and the By Pass are reduced in width down to a single car width.
Vehicles driving from Liverpool Road towards the By Pass will be forced into a single lane (which is currently 2 lanes). This will inevitably cause traffic congestion, made worse by proposals to narrow the bypass itself to a single width road. The report itself acknowledges that “this could be deemed to have a negative impact on capacity at the junction”. However, the proposal has been accepted by members of the Licensing Committee.
Cars leaving the Islington car park (behind Boots), together with service vehicles will enter Church Road, which appears not to be controlled by traffic lights. Likewise, residents’ cars and service vehicles at the new Central Buildings development will have to nudge their way into the main traffic flow as vehicles pass from Islington towards Liverpool Road or Coronation Road.
This scheme does not address the needs of pedestrians or car users in or around Crosby Village, other than by eliminating the two mini roundabouts and bringing a traffic signal controlled crossing from Coronation Road towards the Islington car park.
The Licensing Committee have been informed that there ar no revenue implications associated with the scheme. How then will the traffic lights be maintained and managed, and will the junctions be monitored by CCTV to witness the bottlenecks?
In short, this is an ill-considered plan approved by Councillors who are not familiar with Crosby Village and costing £1.5m of public money. The scheme will lead to traffic chaos for drivers of cars and commercial vehicles, and endanger cyclists in and around the area.
It should be brought to the public including local residents and shopkeepers for proper consultation before rushing through with such a disruptive scheme which is planned to take place in 2023/2024.
