WARRINGTON Borough Council is facing criticism from one of its own members for deciding to host a conference entitled “The 20 mph City.”
The borough council and locally-based campaign group 20’s Plenty for Us will put on the event in partnership with PTRC Education and Research Services at The Gateway Centre on May 17.
The announcement has brought an immediate objection from borough councillor Paul Kennedy (pictured) – the only member of the borough’s traffic committee who earlier this week voted against the controversial plan to introduce 20mph limits on selected roads in Orford, Great Sankey and in the town centre.
He said: “I have objected because of the cost of facility use and officer time at a time when we are having to make substantial cost savings throughout Warrington Borough Council.”
Cllr Kennedy says he was not opposed to 20mph limits in principle but is concerned about the piecemeal way they are being introduced, the cost of introducing them and the problems of enforcement.
He believes it is an issue for national government – not local authorities.
Conference organisers say many towns and cities in the UK are considering introducing 20mph but are reluctant to do so because of current funding climate, the political leadership required and the limited amount of national evidence of success.
They say the conference is aimed at local politicians whose portfolios include transport, traffic and road safety engineers, transport planners and campaign groups.
Among the speakers will be Mark Tune, the borough council’s traffic and road safety manager and Rod King, campaign director for 20’s Plenty for Us.
14 Comments
Well done, Councillor Kelly! Where is the money coming from at a time when the Coucil is skint! I suppose this started as an ego trip for some Council Officer. Would they spend this money if it was their own. I think not. Someone has got to knock some sense into OUR Council at a very difficult time. Roll on the May elections when we will have a change of administration.
Totally agree with Cllr Kennedy. It is a waste of money that the town can ill afford to lose. It seems this council robs Peter to pay Paul. One news item today talks about making savings, and then this article talks about spending the savings. I thought that making savings was the road to cutting the Council debt? get a grip people. deal with the important issues only in a period of crisis.
Now if the boys on their bikes want to pay the costs incurred, that is different.
Thanks….
PS it is Kennedy
So Warrington is now a ‘city’ is it ?? Interesting to read that organisers say other councils are reluctant to consider 20mph because of current FUNDING climate and LIMITED amount of national EVIDENCE of success. Are we being used as dumb guinea pigs then as our decision makers seem to be a push over and believe everything they are told ? As for ‘roll on the elections’ interesting when you look at who is on the committee and see who voted in favour of this first rollout….7 members in total with. 4 LABOUR (for), 2 LIB DEM (for) and 1 CONSERVATIVE (against). So if labour get voted in in May they clearly like the idea of the 20 mph scheme too !?!? More thought needs to be put into this whole thing and they should not just rely on inconclusive evidence, statistics and info that is force fed to them by a very pushy small group of people:(
It’s about time someone had the guts to stand up and point this out. If the public are being told that we all have to accept cutbacks, then why the heck is anybody even contemplating hosting a conference on behalf of one small minority pressure group. Just like the proposal to spend 10million that we haven’t got on a solar farm, this is an idea that should be put on the back burner for the time being. Well done Paul Kelly 😉
Has anyone googled the ‘training’ company who are hosting this event with Mr King’s group ?? Infact has anyone read what the conference is about… there was me thinking it was to do with our LOCAL roads and implementation. It’s not….. it’s for all and sundry to attend from wherever and nothing to do with what happens with here really… For goodness sake the at the closure of the day it even says “15:45 – Close and an opportunity to explore at leisure one or two of Warrington’s
20 mph zones with a map provided by the City Council. Council officers
will be on hand to provide directions if necessary “. Wonder if Cllr Kennedy will be invited so he can point them in the ‘right direction’ 🙂
This is an ego trip for Rod King and his bunch of cycling nazis. If they want 20mph limits, they should be made to pay for them. I don’t want them, I see no benefits in them and judging by most of the comments I hear; neither do most people, so why should my council tax go towards paying for them? We already have to pay for cycling lanes that cyclists don’t use….. when will this madness stop?
Well lets see if we can shed a little light on this matter.
Firstly the conference is being organised and underwritten by PTRC-Training in partnership with WBC and 20’s Plenty for Us. PTRC Training are an international training organisation that provide training for transport specialists. A list of the events they run may be found at http://www.ptrc-training.co.uk/events.php. PTRC are part of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics which has 20,000 members.
PTRC provide training on aspects of transport that are of relevence to their members and transport professionals. Previously they had run the Portsmouth – 20mph City conference in 2009 and wanted to run another event focussing on 20mph initiatives in the North of England. They approached 20’s Plenty for Us as the national voluntary organisation focussing on 20mph limits and asked us about possible venues.
We suggested Warrington because of its excellent transport links, its potential venue of the Gateway Centre and also because WBC had recently conducted a large scale pilot on 20 mph limits and behind Portsmouth had one of the best evidence bases for wide area 20mph implementations. PTRC then contacted WBC independently and made all arrangement with them and without any involvement from 20’s Plenty for Us.
20’s Plenty for Us are also assisting in the event and with our understanding of the status of 20mph limit considerations around the country are seen as a serious and credible contributor to the subject.
When the conference flyer says that it is aimed at local politicians it does not mean those in Warrington, but local as opposed to national politicians. Councils throughout the country are interested in the successes in towns implementing 20mph and want to hear from speakers on the subject.
The conference brings together speakers from around the country including the Dept for Transport. That WBC should be involved in this event is a very positive sign that it is taking part in the process of national debate on this subject and is sharing its experiences for the benefit of other local authorities. This should be welcomed and rather than sniping at the few hours of officer time involved the council should be praised for its initiative.
Best regards
Rod King
20’s Plenty for Us
PTRC
Dizzy
It was members of ALL parties in the Executive Board that voted for 20mph limits being rolled out across the borough for residential streets.
There has been huge thought put into this. Rather than committing to this in 2008 the council decided to invest £80,000 into the pilots trials. Of course they could have put the money into an Icelandic Bank savings account instead. But as a result they found that speeds and casulaties reduced more in the pilot areas than the rest of the borough. Only after the evidence was gathered did they make a decision about a wider roll-out on the basis of those positive results and the expectation of large savings in casualty costs and wide benefits.
Far from this evidence being “force fed” to them, it was evidence they had gathered from their own trials.
Best regards
Rod
Bill…… Its Kennedy, With you me and Paul being people who actually use surnames then at least lets try and get them correct!
Cycling nazi’s? — My father was torpedoed twice by german u-boats following nazi orders. I am afraid I find such a term repugnant.
If you think there is a comparison between the milions murdered by the nazis and a group of people asking that our roads be shared in a better way then you seem to have no sense of proportion.
The biggest beneficiaries of lower speed limits are the drivers and passengers who avoid collisons. In Portsmouth there was a 37% reduction in casualties to passengers when 20mph limits were introduced.
Other beneficiaries are children and the elderly. What do you suggest, an extra penny on sweet tax or maybe a few pounds off the OAP to pay for it. Or how about accepting that if we can reduce casualty costs to the NHS, increase fitness levels through promoting active travel and reducing our dependency on oil then all of this will outweigh the costs many times over.
I was run down and hospitalised by a stupid cyclist riding on a footpath when I was a kid Mr King, we all have our crosses to bear. You feel it is your duty to “protect” the vulnerable….. who gave you that mantle to wear? I didn’t vote for you….. you are a nursery owner not batman. I really think you should move to Holland if you like bikes so much and leave the roads to the cars and the drivers that pay the tax to pay for all these stupid stunts you and your kind propose
But I am one of those drivers!!!!
Where are all these words getting us? The fact is that the Borough Council is skint! There are, surely, more important issues affecting Warrington at this time. It is not just a few hours of officer time, is it? I find that my Council Tax demand is as it was in 2010/2011. With inflation getting higher this, of course, means that there has to be savings by the Borough Council to achieve this position. It would be better if the Council would spend some officer time on deciding what is going to be cut and when and then letting us know.