Tempers are getting a little frayed over the new promenade road scheme that has been implemented in Blackpool. During the work to reduce the carriageway in front of The Tower from four lanes to two, there was anger from drivers facing long delays.
Since the scheme opened in June 2011, a 20mph speed limit has been in force but during the busiest times of the year, traffic flow has been even slower, prompting calls for a return to four lanes. There has also been criticism of the shared space concept introduced as part of the project. It means pedestrians and vehicles have equal rights and traffic is meant to stop to allow people to cross.
But disabled groups including the Blind Society have hit out at the scheme, and said it was difficult for visually impaired people to differentiate between the road and the pavement due to the lack of kerbs.An audit of the new layout, by transport planning consultants Phil Jones Associates, recommended changes were made including the addition of a new crossing in front of The Tower, that bollards and street furniture be introduced to define the shared pavement and road areas, and 20mph signs put in place.
Work on the zebra crossing is due to start later this month, and will mean there are four on the stretch between New Bonny Street and Talbot Square. The consultants identified that “very few drivers gave priority to pedestrians starting to cross.”
Cracks first started to appear in the carriageway 12 months ago, just months after the work had been completed. On that occasion the problems were described as small scale, and repairs were carried out overnight in order to minimise disruption. But queues have formed once again in recent times due to further work having to be carried out after the appearance of the latest damage.
Now parties who have been involved in the scheme are seeking to distance themselves from the bad publicity that the works are generating. Conservative councillors who agreed to the construction of Blackpool’s multi-million pound Promenade which is now breaking up in parts, have defended their role in the controversial scheme. Former council leader Coun Peter Callow today denied it was his administration’s fault.
The Tories were in power when the decision was made, but Coun Callow said “Neither Labour nor Conservative, nor Lib Dem councillors are experts on roads. The designs were done by our highways experts and we were told shared space operates safely all over the continent. It is almost two years since we left office and the completion of the work was actually after we left power, but I would expect the road has been checked by our inspectors to see if the job was done properly. If it’s not up to scratch, we must get the contractors back to put it right.”
Coun Peter Evans, deputy leader of the Conservatives on Blackpool Council, added: “We agreed the scheme but at the end of the day we take advice from experts. If an expert puts something in front of you and says this will work and these are the specifications, you accept that is true. It has either been bad workmanship or bad materials.”
The cost of repairs is being met from the £2.5m budget originally set aside for the scheme. John Donnellon, service director for the built environment on Blackpool Council, says some of the damage has been caused by heavy delivery lorries, while utility companies have also dug up some areas but will be returning to restore the carriageway. But taxi drivers and bus operators are among those fed up with the constant repairs.
Paul Bottle, who drives for C Cabs, said: “Even if they repair it, it will be a never ending job and it will be crumbling again.”
Philip Higgs, boss of ClassicBus North West which operates heritage services in Blackpool, added: “It really is an embarrassment. What was once the Golden Mile has become a pot-holed congested roadway. It is a pity common sense never prevailed at the outset. The bricked roadway was never going to sustain the traffic volume expected of it.”
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