Letters - October 9, 2018

Talbot Road simply isn't wide enough ...

The loss of Talbot Road due to the tramway extension is going to cause long-term traffic congestion issues. Simply put... the road space is just not wide enough.

Have the everyday practical matters really been thought through?

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Articulated trams will be running up and down Talbot Road in opposite directions every 5-10 minutes between around 6am and midnight.

How are businesses on Talbot Road expected to receive essential deliveries?

Trams are not like buses which can simply manoeuvre around temporarily parked vans and lorries loading and unloading goods.

From November 1963, Lord Street in Fleetwood had become the remaining shared road space passenger use tramline in the UK. It survived because the road space was wide enough to accommodate trams alongside other vehicles. The tramway to Fleetwood still carries a large number of year-round passengers to make the service viable.

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Talbot Road is simply not wide enough to accommodate a tramway, several bus routes and delivery access.

Prior to the tram works on Talbot Road , Blackpool’s traffic congestion had already got increasingly worse after the Promenade layout was changed.

It’s all well and good for traffic management consultants to offer expensive and theoretical surveys based on the knowledge generated from computer programmes. Local taxi drivers know the score and the implications.

Regretfully their valuable advice on this important and long term issue has been ignored again.

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In business it’s the till that tells the tale. The town centre traders in Blackpool need emergency help right now. There is little point in having a new tram extension with rows of run-down or empty shops .

An application to fund a purpose-built bus station would have been a far greater proposal to create economic development and prosperity than spending millions of pounds of public money on a short tramway extension that unfortunately will continue to cause more hassle than it is worth.

Stephen Pierre

Campaigner for 
Blackpool Bus Station

Heritage

A kaleidoscope 
of intrigue for all

Thanks to everyone at the Raikes Hall pub last weekend for a wonderful exhibition of our local heritage and history.

I must highlight the wonderful talks by Alan Seddon and David Evans, thanks fellas you did us proud.

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The exhibition organised together with David Slattery Christie, offered a fascinating historical and informative account of local characters and historical records from days gone by. Indeed to quote Alan Seddon it was a, “veritable kaleidoscope of intrigue”.

There was a royal Palace Gardens cake baked by Graham which looked delightful, and a model of the Royal Palace Gardens by Alan Sedona.

Both Blackpool FC and Blackpool Cricket Club played there 1880s.

The Belle Vue Strawberry Gardens Action group had a stand showing the history of the original Belle Vue Strawberry Gardens which was manned by volunteers.

Well done all!

Eddie Fewings

Blackpool

Appeal

Beat isolation and help out others

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This month we are celebrating Silver Sunday, an annual occasion that recognises and celebrates the contribution of older generations in making a difference to their local communities.

Many of us will work for most of our lives and will be able to appreciate the importance of having a routine and feeling valued for the contributions that we make to our society. It is understandable then that as people enter retirement, they can become increasingly cut off from society and feel that they are no longer playing an active part in their communities.

With more than a third of people over 75 admitting that they feel lonely, I’d like to tell your readers how volunteering can be a great way to combat isolation while making a huge difference to worthy causes, just like our own, all across the UK.

I work for Revitalise – an amazing charity that provides respite holidays for disabled people and carers at Sandpipers, our respite holiday centre in Southport. We are proud to run the largest residential volunteering programme of any UK charity, welcoming thousands of volunteers of all ages to spend time with our charity each year.

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If you would like to find out more about Revitalise or if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer please visit: www.revitalise.org.uk or call our volunteer team on: 0303 303 0163.

Stephanie Stone

Revitalise

Politics

They’ve lied before they’ll lie again...

Why oh why does the national mainstream media fail to properly question our Western governments when reasons for war are presented to them?

In any other walk of life, when someone lies to you, you thereafter question anything else they have to say.

But the fact we were lied to about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq makes no difference to our jingoistic national newspapers and broadcast corporations who continue to bang the drum for our warmongering politicians regardless.

Julie Moss

Via email