Letters - November 29, 2016

Some years ago I assume it was the council planners that gave, in their infinite wisdom, the go-ahead for the change in the road set up at Layton, between Annesley Avenue and the Layton Institute, where it was changed from a two-lane north and south dual carriageway to a single lane with a large central reservation with benches, trees and concrete planters along with the biggest gas chamber I have ever seen.

Who in their right mind would want to sit on these benches amidst all the poisonous fumes from the passing traffic?

The biggest problem this set-up made was the gridlock when buses stopped at the Institute and outside the chipshop. Traffic backed up to the Windmill and Layton Square. This gridlock also put lives at risk by hindering the emergency services.

I went to Layton the other day and was pleased to see someone had got some sense by making the bay outside the old Yorkshire bank into a bus bay, albeit for one bus, and traffic can continue south. I am not sure if the same has been done outside the Institute in order to do the same northbound.

This seems to be working whilst there are less buses using this route during the closure of Plymouth Road bridge, but will it work when there are more buses using the route, or are Blackpool Transport going to revise their timetables in order that only one bus hits the bays at once?

Sandgrownun

Milburn Avenue

Cleveleys

POLITICS

Let’s have a national inquiry into cuts

When Paul Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, says “Just to be clear” (Gazette, November 21) it turns out that he was anything but clear.

He neglects to even mention his role in our crumbling public services, and with regard to the library closures he uses an analogy about the removal of free tram travel that is completely untrue. Some would say don’t let the facts get in a way of a good story, but as an MP I think the electorate deserves so much more.

Paul Maynard says he has demanded a public inquiry into the closure of libraries in Lancashire. But it’s not just Lancashire that has been faced with impossibly difficult decisions with regard to their libraries; since 2010 over 300 libraries have closed across the country.

So if there is to be an inquiry let it be across the whole country, definitively stating what level of service is obligatory, and importantly what level of funding is required to be provided by Government to local authorities in order that they can deliver that level of service. Given that Paul Maynard is crying ‘foul’ after he actually voted for these drastic cuts, the inquiry should also look into what MPs knew and what they didn’t know when they voted for these cuts.

To use a quote from film director Ken Loach, “If they don’t know what they are doing to people they are incompetent and shouldn’t be in Government. If they do know what they are doing then they are not fit to be in Government.”

Which of those two categories are you in Paul?

Rob Fail

Councillor For Jubilee Ward Cleveleys

TRANSPORT

Tramway is set to be a white elephant

I believe that the proposed Talbot Road Tramway is flawed from the outset.

The specification of our Austrian/German built Blackpool Trams shows that they can accommodate 74 seated people and a further 148 standing, there are only two relatively small dedicated areas for wheelchairs/pushchairs.

Wheelchair users have already had legal issues with pushchair users over who has an ultimate right to these designated areas: this never resolved, so what is likely to happen when it is exacerbated by rail users with their suitcases/baggage etc? Just where will the rail users place their luggage, not a good start to their stay in the resort!

To compound the situation, I recall conductors have problems collecting fares during seat congestion and there is of course the trip hazard with potential claims against the operator.

The premise of a Talbot Road Tramway was scrapped in 1936: surely we do not have to pander to planners’ egos, and their embarrassing attendant costs, to prove that this will be another ‘White Elephant’.

Mike Marlow

Via email

CRIME

What are these judges thinking?

Congratulations on your article regarding killer drivers (Gazette, November 22).

I was astounded when I heard about the family who transported their son’s car to Westminster.

The person who killed their son drove through a red light at 80mph in a 30mph zone.

This was deserving of the maximum sentence of 14 years, but he will be back on the road again in three.

What are the judges thinking about? If it is a case of our prisons being overcrowded, build some more or bring back hanging.

Name and address supplied

TRANSPORT

Cash is being spent in the wrong places

I see Blackpool is to benefit from a new fleet of buses, complete with leather seats, hot and cold running wifi and wood effect flooring (Gazette, November 25).

Could someone explain why transport bosses are spending money on these luxury limos of public transport and tramway extensions, and not on subsidising unprofitable rural bus services, expanding operating hours and reducing fares?

Or do those things not look as good in the press releases?

P Laurence

via email