The trial of a controversial road scheme in L8 is to be extended to allow for better community engagement over the future of the project.
Changes to the road layout at Kingsley Road had been met with a mixed reception by residents following a lengthy trial period. During a meeting of Liverpool Council’s highways and public spaces representations committee last month, Cllr Lucille Harvey told members “public trust had been damaged” over how the authority had handled the scheme.
Following a site visit by committee members, and a follow-up public meeting, it has been agreed the existing trial to allow for further engagement with Kingsley Road residents and a permanent solution can be worked out. Officers and councillors visited the scheme earlier this month to assess its viability.
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Committee chair Cllr Pam Thomas said she wants the community to work together to design a scheme that works for everyone. She said there are people with very different views but working together is what is important, adding: “nobody is going to get everything they want.”
Cllr Thomas said it was important both sides worked together to “remove the problems and keep the good things” the scheme had brought. A recommendation had been made to the committee to permanently adopt a road layout and 20mph system following an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) being in place.
A decision had been expected in February but was deferred following a public outcry about community engagement. After months of waiting and a contractor going bust, work on the road was finally completed which included the installation of a cycle lane to provide a north-south link across the city.
Studies of speed along the route conducted by Liverpool Council during an ETRO period have found the average speed has dropped well below the original 30mph limit. In addition, the road was also converted to operate in one direction in what a council report said would “create space to enhance cycling provision and address parking needs.”
The ETRO has been in place for more than two years and during that period, six months were dedicated to a consultation period, concluding in June last year. A report ahead of a meeting to determine the scheme’s future next week said to maintain a two-way carriageway, a minimum width of 14m would be required.
Ruth Conroy has lived on Kingsley Road for more than six decades. She told the committee: “Put the road back the way it was.
“We’re not going to take it anymore, put it back then come and ask the community what we want.” Sonia Bassey of L8 Community Land Trust said she appreciated the committee conducting the site visit but said the group was “disappointed we had to go to the lengths we did to ensure voices were heard.”
She added: “We’re not a substandard neighbourhood and we don’t expect substandard work either.” Committee member Cllr Liam Robinson, cabinet member for finance, said: “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water, let's properly work to come up with something that is better than what we have at this moment in time."
A final decision must be made before the existing order runs out in June.
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