Shirley 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 Shirley ward candidates (6 questions)
Question 1
If elected will you sign up to the Space for Cycling campaign?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | Yes |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | I will work with local cyclists and my Lib Dem colleagues to deliver meaningful developments that improve cycling in Southampton. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Yes |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | I am happy to sign up for the Space for Cycling campaign. I have long thought that a modern city needs a good extensive high quality cycling network, as in places like the Netherlands. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |
Question 2
Are you in favour of removing road space for cars and using this for safe segregated cycle superhighways similar to London?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | The Labour administration is working with various cycling groups through the Cycling Forum to look at a number of ways to improve Southampton’s highways infrastructure. |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | The Lib Dems are committed to towns and cities that are designed to be safe and designed to be safer attractive walking spaces and implementing the recommendations of the Get Britain Cycling. Segregated cycleways are safest way to deliver this but not always practical. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Yes. Physical segregation is necessary, as in Holland. |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | Yes. We need to reduce the dependence on cars in favour of clean and healthy alternatives. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |
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?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | As a policy, this is not something the Labour administration supports. We’ve looked at individual hot spots, but the 20mph trial we conducted a couple of years ago showed no reduction in speed. The Police do not have the resources to enforce 20mph zones. |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | Yes, where residents want this. Near schools, nurseries and parks. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Not 20: when I was in Port Stanley, in East Falkland, the limit was 25mph: preferable. |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | Yes. A 20 mph limit in some residential areas is sensible. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |
Question 4
If elected what would you do to encourage cycling in Southampton?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | The Shirley councillors were successful in our bid for minor projects money last year for some bollards on Wilton Road, which has resulted in the section of the road between Bellemoor Rd and Winchester Rd being closed to motor vehicles (please see attached photo). This is a popular cycling and walking route for hospital staff and pupils, staff and parents at Shirley Infants and Juniors.
SCC hold a quarterly forum chaired by Cllr Keogh (a keen cyclist) to listen to the various cycling bodies concerned with cycling issues, whether commuter, social or family. After discussion with the local cycling groups, we recently launched a 10 year cycling plan that is costed and deliverable. We are investing more money as a council than ever before and are listening to cyclists. We have worked with Yo Bike to ensure bikes are available across the city for people who may not be confident enough or able to purchase their own bike. We support the various organised bike rides in the city and the Access Board have cycling issues as a standard item with partners from Sustrans, My Journey and the University of Southampton. Cycling issues also play a major part in our air quality action plan and focus on modal shift across the city. The Labour Group and Cabinet Member, Cllr Rayment, are committed to improving the cycling offer and have a number of Labour councillors who cycle regularly, including Cllr Shields and Cllr Savage, who at their own cost have travelled to Europe to look at other schemes. |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | The Lib Dems will plan to improve cycling infrastructure through our revised budget that adds £1m extra capital expenditure for cycling. Also to ride my own bike more. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Campaign for physical cycle-lanes. (Not strips of paint!) |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | I would like to encourage cycling through building an extensive cycling network in Southampton (as per Q1) and back that up with a cycling publicity campaign. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |
Question 5
If elected would you be in favour of allocating 10% of the local transport budget to cycling?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | Every year we have spent more than 10% of our transport budget on cycling. This year we have spent a third of the budget, but this was due to grants. In a normal year, £2.12 m is the Highways budget for non-specific highways, of which we spend between £500-600k on cycling schemes. |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | In our alternative budget presented to council in February, we committed £1m of council capital expenditure to building new or improving existing cycleways across Southampton and reprioritise pothole repairs to protect cyclist safety. This is in addition to existing revenues that Labour have already dedicated. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Yes. |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | Yes I think that 10% of the local transport budget for cycling is sensible. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |
Question 6
If elected would you be in favour of a Workplace Parking Levy?
| Hannah COOMBS (Labour Party) | This is not something we are looking to do at present, but is on the table for discussion. |
| Peter GALTON (Liberal Democrat) | The Workplace Parking Levy could be an effective way to do this and provide valuable funds to invest in alternative transportation including cycling. However would need to consider if it will deliver the desired impact before committing to its implementation, and we would explore this amongst a number of options if elected. |
| Amanda GUEST (Independent) | |
| Colin HINGSTON (UKIP) | Not everywhere: many people already have to pay to park at work. It needs to be fair to those who live a good distance from work. |
| John SPOTTISWOODE (Green Party) | Yes. A workplace parking levy is also a very good idea. |
| Matt TURPIN (The Conservative Party) |