Portswood ward

Summary:	Elections to Southampton City Council in May 2018
Polling date:	Thursday 3rd May 2018
Ward:
Candidates (by surname):	Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party) Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts) Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat) Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party) Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)

Questions for Portswood ward candidates (6 questions)

Question 1

If elected will you sign up to the Space for Cycling campaign?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	Yes, I will, I am a member of the SCC and actively participate in campaigns, this will continue
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	Elected I will support improvements for cycling in Southampton, I am a cyclist although this is generally a fair weather cyclist. I would also work with local cyclists and my liberal democrat colleagues to deliver meaningful developments that improve cycling in Southampton.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	Yes I would be happy to sign up to this campaign and work with you to explore ways to make cycling in the city better.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	Yes. I support the Space for Cycling Campaign. I’m delighted the Government has just given Southampton £1.7 million to improve cycle-ways across the city.

Question 2

Are you in favour of removing road space for cars and using this for safe segregated cycle superhighways similar to London?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	Yes, this is what our city needs to maintain our status as the city that people want to move to. The impact of this would be enormous
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	The liberal democrats are committed to towns and cities that are designed to be safe and have attractive walking and cycling spaces. We are also committed to implementing the recommendations of the Get Britain Cycling report. Segregated cycleways are clearly the safest ways to deliver this, however they are not always practical on certain roads where they are needed. We are committed to developing a comprehensive cycle network scheme that connects the key residential, working and recreation centres safely and to properly funding that scheme.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	I understand that wider roads can create induced demand and don’t always mean less congestion! I would be in keen to join in on the work of the Labour group and work with local cycling groups to see how we can create more space for cyclists and pedestrians.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	Yes. This is a good idea in those areas where road widths and traffic density will support it.

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?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	Yes, but there are some issues of slow speeds and increasing pollution that would need to be explored. I prefer home zones and removing cars from the area. Hackney has made some interesting developments and I would be exploring these to see what we can learn from other cities.
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	We will introduce 20mph zones in residential areas across the city where residents want this, and would pro-actively encourage this in areas near schools, nurseries and parks.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	A 20MPH speed limit is only as effective as long as it is enforceable. Enforcement is becoming increasingly difficult due to the horrendous cuts the police are currently facing. I would support physical speed calming measures where appropriate and one of my personal interests is looking how road design itself can help slow down drivers.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	Definitely. Lower speeds are a known way to reduce accidents and fatalities. Unlike Labour I support 20 mph limits where local people want it.

Question 4

If elected what would you do to encourage cycling in Southampton?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	I will continue to work with the SCC. I will put on bike rides around the city sharing my love of the history of this city. I hope I would never need to do a Ride to Remember again but this may not be the case. I plan to make a film with the families of Richard Gardner and John Morris to show to councillors – currently these cases have not been resolved through the courts of law but once this has been done I know the family of John are willing to help me to do this. the idea of a cycle ride for councillors showing them the poor road surface and dangers for cyclists is a sound one and I would support this.
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	The liberal democrats and I will promote our plans to improve cycling infrastructure and off road cycle routes throughout the city.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	I would look at bidding for any minor infrastructure projects that have the potential to reduce traffic speed and congestion in Portswood. I would support the continuation of the dockless bike scheme which has been a great way to get people who don’t own a bike to cycle. I would support Sustrans great work to encourage cycling participation amongst those who are currently under-represented in the cycling community. I would make myself available to cycling groups and residents to discuss and hopefully solve specific traffic issues in the area that make it harder for people to walk and cycle.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	First improve road quality. Southampton Conservatives have identified the Velocity Patcher system as a way to dramatically speed up repairs on all of our roads and cycle routes. We would prioritise fixing roads which are official cycle routes. We would also ensure that potholes, which are currently ignored by the council because they are deemed not deep enough, get fixed. You can hear more details here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1596954490360168&id=203213259734305 Our manifesto contains a number of key pledges: To encourage cycling in the city, in addition to the proper maintenance of cycle lanes, we would make it planning policy to require showers for cyclists in new workspace buildings. We would introduce 20 mph limits on residential roads where residents want them. We want encourage more children to cycle, walk and scoot to school and would make keeping children safe a priority. We would ensure that every school that wants a lollipop person can have one. You can hear more details here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1605659579489659&id=203213259734305. This is an especially important issue in Portswood as all of our primary schools have expanded in recent years. Conservatives would also introduce no-idling zones around schools to improve air quality and protect our children’s health

Question 5

If elected would you be in favour of allocating 10% of the local transport budget to cycling?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	Yes
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	In our fully costed budget, presented to the council in February 2018 and available to read on our website, we committed £1M of extra capital expenditure for cycling and incorporating cycling and public transport considerations into the city-wide development, transport and housing plans. This would be allocated to building new or improving existing cycleways across the city and prioritising pothole repairs to protect cyclists safety. This is in addition to existing revenues that Labour have already dedicated to spend on cycling.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	I believe that this already happens under the current Labour administration but I would certainly be in favour of keeping it that way.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	Yes. We would seek to achieve this by prioritising the resurfacing of roads in the city which are formal cycle routes.

Question 6

If elected would you be in favour of a Workplace Parking Levy?

Katherine BARBOUR (Green Party)	Yes, I have been discussing this on the doorstep with potential voters and there is a lot of interest in this.
Nick CHAFFEY (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts)
Adrian FORD (Liberal Democrat)	We would consider whether a workplace levy would have the desired effect whilst being mindful of people who live too far to cycle into work and have little access to public transport, also those who work shifts and those for whom walking or travelling on public transport is difficult. Some of these groups will be low paid workers who could suffer hardship from the result of a levy.
Lisa MITCHELL (Labour Party)	I know that this has been very successful under the Labour council in Nottingham and that they’ve been able to invest the money in some brilliant public transport schemes. I would certainly want to explore whether this is something that is viable in Southampton if it comes up for discussion.
Paul O`NEILL (The Conservative Party)	I would be in favour of further work to analyse the implication of this approach. I can see the attractions but also potential negative implications. I do also believe however there are other potential measures that should be looked at to encourage cycling such as greater emphasis given to cycling infrastructure in community infrastructure levies.