There may be action being taken at road work sites, even if it might not look like it
Traffic backing up coming in and out of Hoylake(Image: Copyright Unknown)
People are “waiting at endless temporary traffic lights” across a Merseyside area with “no sign of anybody doing any action,” a councillor has said. Wirral Council officers said there may be many reasons why road works might be empty.
Across Wirral, road works have been taking place as part of a planned resurfacing programme to address issues like potholes on the roads as they do every summer. Alongside this, utilities companies have been carrying out planned and emergency repairs while Cadent is upgrading the gas network.
During an environment committee meeting on September 17, Cllr Allan Brame asked about road works around the borough pointing to a statistic 14,715 days had been saved as a result of works finishing early.
He said this may come as a surprise to drivers “waiting at endless temporary traffic lights” and wanted to know what the council was doing to ensure works are being finished in time. He added particularly when people “fed up seeing the roads closed and traffic lights on red and no sign of anybody doing any action.”
West Kirby councillor Jenny Johnson pointed to an increase in air pollution around Conway Street where temporary traffic lights have been in place for months. She said west Wirral seemed to be getting the most temporary traffic lights she had ever seen and were “creating a huge amount of chaos across many parts of the borough.”
Officer Paul Traynor explained the council operates a permit scheme in Wirral to book road space and applications were processed as they came in. He said if the works do overrun and it’s not justified, the council does issue penalties.
Statistics for Wirral show the council issued overrun charges of over £80,000 between 2022 and 2024. The local authority also issued more than 2,200 fines over the same period bringing in nearly £220,000 in revenue.
This money is used to pay for the costs of the enforcement service. Any extra is invested back into transport facilities and services.
On the issue of road works being empty, he said there may be a number of reasons why people might think that no work is being done but “there is genuinely a reason why nobody is working there on that particular day.” For example, utility companies may be carrying out exercises such as monitoring gas levels when there’s been leaks.
He said the local authority also worked with utility companies to minimise the impact of essential works on the road network. Mr Traynor also said the council had been carrying out a huge amount of improvements to roads across the borough and this may be coinciding with utility companies.
In some areas, he said diversions are difficult because of the available routes in these areas and works had “a dramatic effect” and acted as a magnifying glass. The ECHO has previously spoken to people in Hoylake after concerns were raised about works along the main road into the town.
During the meeting, Cllr Brame also asked an urgent question following flooding in the last 24 hours in his ward of Oxton.
He said children had walked to school ankle deep in water, a situation he described as “unacceptable”, and asked what action was being done to tackle the recurring issue.
Cllr Liz Grey said the council would respond to the enquiry at a future date, adding it was a serious issue across the borough and will get worse with climate change. Councillors also approved a progress report on the council’s tree, hedge, and woodland strategy as well as adopting a plan for a new Mersey Forest.