Harefield ward
| Summary: | Elections to Southampton City Council in May 2018 |
| Polling date: | Thursday 3rd May 2018 |
| Ward: |
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| Candidates (by surname): |
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Questions for Harefield ward candidates (6 questions)
Question 1
If elected will you sign up to the Space for Cycling campaign?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) | Yes, I will be signing up to Space For Cycling |
| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | Yes |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | In principle I agree with the objectives and approach of “Space for Cycling” but clearly implementation would need reflect our local city needs |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
Yes |
Question 2
Are you in favour of removing road space for cars and using this for safe segregated cycle superhighways similar to London?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) |
To answer the question directly, I would broadly support cycle superhighways in principle. I frequently cycle in London and have experienced the benefits of these, and I believe that all of the faster roads should have provision for cycle lanes or paths as appropriate to the road.
I would like to see parallel cycle paths to be built along the main trunk roads from the city centre to the outskirts – Portsmouth Road/Itchen Bridige; Northam/Bitterne Road; Thomas Lewis Way; Shirley Road; Millbrook Road – as this would effectively create direct safe cycle routes from all of the suburbs to the city centre.
The route along the Avenue to the University and Bassett has something of what I’d like to see, although there are some improvements that could be made. The footpath along much of the Avenue is poorly maintained, and this would be an ideal location for the paths to be widened and designated as cycle paths. This would also improve motor-vehicle safety, as many drivers treat it as if it was a four-lane road, even though it is not.
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| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | I am not sure how practical this is in Southampton, but I am happy to be persuaded. |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | Yes provided it is part of a coherent and comprehensive transport strategy |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
Yes |
Question 3
Are you in favour of lowering speed limits to 20mph in some residential areas to make it safer for people to walk and cycle?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) |
I believe that the majority of residential roads and shopping streets should have 20mph limits, and that this limit should apply to all roads which are not wide enough to create segregated cycle facilities. I also believe that 30mph should be the maximum speed for trunk roads which are frequently used by pedestrians and cyclists; therefore The Avenue and Bassett Avenue would be reduced to 30mph.
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| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | Yes, as long as there are associated traffic calming measures to enforce the majority of motorists abide by the limit – otherwise it is a meaningless token. |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | Yes provided it is triggered by local consultation |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
Yes |
Question 4
If elected what would you do to encourage cycling in Southampton?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) |
In addition to the above measures, I will investigate the possibility of a public information campaign to highlight the benefits of cycling – faster journeys at peak time, no city centre parking charges, the health benefits. I will also instigate a review of cycle parking provision across the city, which I feel is patchy at present.
I am aware that the cycle campaign have criticised the council for either not consulting on relevant plans, or doing so and then ignoring the responses. I would make efforts to resolve these were I to be elected.
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| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | Try and ensure there is a reasonable proportion of the highways capital programme spent on cycling. |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | Yes |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
I do not drive but I do walk and use public transport , I have not ridden a bike since I was a child a very long time ago |
Question 5
If elected would you be in favour of allocating 10% of the local transport budget to cycling?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) | Yes, and possibly more. The Green Party has cycling and walking at the top of its transport spending hierarchy. |
| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | There needs to be an informed debate about this. for instance diverting money from highways maintenance does not seem a sensible/safe proposition for cyclists.
Again this is likely to be a bit of tokenismbearing in mind how starved local authorities are of funding. |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | Yes any credible cycling plan requires sufficient funding, however I am not convinced by the logic of the WPL |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
Yes |
Question 6
If elected would you be in favour of a Workplace Parking Levy?
| Chris BLUEMEL(Green Party) | Yes I would support a Workplace Parking Levy. I also believe we need other measures for road traffic reduction. The city has an oversupply of public parking provision, and I believe that some of this could be reduced and converted into alternative uses. I would also investigate whether we could remove car advertisements from billboards. |
| Val LAURENT (The Conservative Party) | |
| Alan LLOYD (Labour Party and Co-operative Party) | This also neds to be the subject of an informed debate.
At the end of all this, we can have a sensible discussion and be supportive, but until we have a Labour goverment that values and funds our public services properly this is regretably, not going to mean very much. |
| Colin MCDOUGAL (Liberal Democrat) | A LD administration would increase spending on cycling infrastructure but I can make no commitment on WPL without more investigations |
| Peter VIRGO (Independent) |
Yes |