Cycling – Nothing for Sefton’s East Parishes again

Me in my cycling gear looking grumpy over the lack of investment in Sefton’s cycling infrastructure.

Being a regular cyclist I often talk about the deficiencies in the cycling network in Sefton Borough’s East Parishes – Aintree Village, Melling, Lydiate, Maghull & Sefton/Lunt Villages – so when I came across the article linked below my eyes light up, if only just a little. And by just a little I mean that’s related to the the small amount of money on the table – £2m will fund very little in terms of safe cycling. Have a look at the article:-

lbndaily.co.uk/work-begins-mersey-pop-walking-cycling-routes/

Yes you’ve probably picked up on the very same issue that I did i.e. nothing for the East Parishes part of Sefton Borough what so ever! To save you going back to the article this is what it says will be done in Sefton Borough:-

Sefton: Cycle route through Southport town centre, segregated cycle route from Bootle town centre to Liverpool city centre.

And you know just relatively small investments in the cycling network in the East Parishes would bring some benefits. I blogged about a few of these not so long ago in the Maghull, Melling & Lydiate area:-

tonyrobertson.mycouncillor.org.uk/2020/05/03/maghull-lydiate-melling-simple-cycling-fixes-for-sefton-council-to-undertake/

When will Sefton Council invest in the Cycling infrastructure of the East Parishes to sort out the simple missing links that are already sat there never mind getting down to serious cycle facility investment in the forgotten part of our Borough? Yes I know a new cycle path is being built from the M58 ‘Ashworth’ junction in Melling to Kirkby and there’s also been a recent ‘half hearted’ attempt to bring a cycle path into Maghull along the A59 from Switch Island but that’s about it for the East Parishes of the Borough.

Glad I got that off my chest…….

Can you spot fake news?

This is a subject that has long fascinated me but especially when the fake news fits our own prejudices. In other words, do you care if it’s not true if it’s something your tribe believes in? Or even, do you share fake news, even when you know it’s fake, because you want other people to believe what you believe?

The BBC has an interesting take on this via its web site – see link below:-

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zwfm8hv

Pavements r 4 Pedestrians

I’ve never quite understood the habit of the many drivers who park their vehicles on pavements, then again I find adults riding cycles on pavements troubling too.

Below there’s a link to a Liverpool Echo article about the problem which seems to be getting worse almost daily:-

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/harsher-punishments-selfish-drivers-welcomed-18685079

When I stop for a coffee at the CoOp in Town Green on one of my regular cycle rides I often observe drivers pulling straight off Town Green Lane and onto a small piece of land at the side of the shop where there are cycle racks. If it’s a large car (and there are a lot them in leafy Aughton) the vehicle often can end up overhanging/blocking the pavement. Do the drivers realise this, do they care? What’s more the CoOp does have a large car park!

Another thing I’ve noticed is that some drivers seem to pull two wheels onto the pavement when stopping as a matter of course. Even if the road is quite wide they still do it, even if the pavement is quite narrow they still do it! It’s a habit which needs challenging and if Merseyside Police are going to start to do so all well and good – Sadly Town Green is in Lancashire so unless Lancs police adopt a similar policy………

The really, really bad practice is putting all of a vehicle on the pavement/cycle track/shared pedestrian-cycle path so that pedestrians or indeed cyclists are blocked and sometimes forced into the road. Such acts of selfishness surely have to be deliberate rather than thoughtless. We can only assume such drivers have no members of their family who are blind, no members of their family who push prams and that they are are completely at ease with putting other lives lives at risk.

Oh and while Merseyside police are at it I hope they also start to tackle pavement cyclists as they are a danger to pedestrians; as I always say pavements r 4 pedestrians except where they have been designated as shared space with cyclists of course.

For the benefit of doubt I am a pedestrian, cyclist and driver. And no I can’t say hand on heart that I’m a perfect driver, cyclist or pedestrian but I don’t mind my failings being pointed out to me by the police or frustrated pedestrians.

It really is time that we all adopted the this approach – PAVEMENTS R 4 PEDESTRIANS and that all police forces took steps to enforce it.

Maghull (NORTH) – What do you know about Maghull?

Branch Line Society charter train at the new Maghull North Station 08 12 19

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiedVGK9H_8&t=331s

Because I’m a railway enthusiast I came across the video (linked above) on You Tube. In brief, the folk on the video pride themselves on having visited every railway station in the country and with Maghull North being a new station they had to tick it off their list by going to it. The Maghull part of the video starts at around 4 minutes into it and it lasts for about 4.5 minutes. But who is the Maghull ‘special guest’?

Well it’s a bit humour, local history and railways so go on have a look at it………

This was the first every train to stop at Merseyrail’s new Maghull North Station – 5.58am on 18th June 2018.

Fracking – Has the threat of fracking on Altcar Moss really gone away?

Whilst at face value the announcement of Aurora Energy Resources that they are withdrawing their application (too Lancashire County Council) to be allowed to commence fracking in Great Altcar is excellent news, my feeling is that it would be premature to put out the bunting and celebrate victory.

The link below to drillordrop is very informative:-

drillordrop.com/2020/07/27/aurora-drops-altcar-moss-fracking-plans/

My understanding (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that Aurora have also indicated they may well be take legal action against the government’s fracking ban. That must surely mean that if they follow through with such legal action and are successful then they could well be back. Of course government could also relax it’s present ‘ban’ on fracking which has never looked to be a permanent policy position.

So yes another battle has been won by The Moss Alliance and other environmental campaign groups but I think it would be foolish to say that the war has been won.

My thanks to The Moss Alliance for all their hard work, work which Lydiate Parish Council was willing to back with financial assistance for legal advice and challenges.

Maghull – Limited reopening of Frank Hornby Heritage Centre

The Frank Hornby Heritage Centre (FHHC) exhibition is to reopen on Friday 31st July by appointment only. It will then be open each Tuesday and Friday – 10am to 4pm – until further notice. The opening days/hours mirror those of Maghull Library with which it is co-located within Meadows Leisure Centre.

Visits to it are by appointment only

To book a visiting time please e-mail – caractorgraphics@yahoo.co.uk – and say which Tuesday or Friday you wish to visit and suggest the best time for you. Please do not visit without gaining an agreed date/time slot as entry to the exhibition is being strictly controlled. Track and trace information will be recorded for each person visiting the Leisure Centre.

Please also note that access to the FHHC will NOT be via the main Leisure Centre doors but via the blue door on the right in the photo below, which will also be the access to Maghull Library.

The trustees of the Frank Hornby Trust, which curates the Frank Hornby Heritage Centre, are delighted to be able to welcome back public access to our exhibition.