People could soon begin to see major changes on Wirral’s roads if plans are approved for the next four years.
These could include more new 20mph zones on top of the speed limits being introduced on 1,700 roads this year, changes to a dangerous crossroads in Spital as well as new speed bumps and cameras.
They are up for debate at a Wirral Council environment and transport meeting on March 14 where councillors are expected to also approve an extra £4.4m for the West Kirby sea wall.
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Many of the latest proposals are linked in with the Liverpool City Region’s road safety strategy which aims to reduce the number of avoidable accidents on roads down to zero by 2040.
Funding for the projects are coming from the Liverpool City Region with more than £8m going towards improving road safety, traffic signals as well as walking and cycle routes between April 2023 and March 2027.
New 20mph zones
In Phase 2 of plans to roll out new 20mph zones across in Wirral, these areas are expected to get new speed limits in the next year:
Hoylake and Meols
Heswall
Greasby, Frankby and Irby
Pensby and Thingwall
Birkenhead & Tranmere
Leasowe & Moreton East
Upton
Bidston & St James
Moreton West & Saughall Massie
Bebington
Claughton
Clatterbridge
New Brighton
Liscard
Seacombe
Prenton
Rock Ferry
Looking ahead to 2027, two more phases of the scheme are expected to be rolled out with more roads affected. When passing the first phase of 20mph zones, councillors said it would save lives, make roads safer, and reduce the number of collisions.
Changes to Spital crossroads
More than £500,000 is expected to go towards improving safety at the Spital crossroads more than two years after a boy, Thomas Willemsen, was seriously injured in an accident there. A pensioner William Horne was also killed by a police car nearby in January 2020.
Campaigners, including family members of those affected, and Clatterbridge councillors have been calling on the council to do something, worried another accident is only a matter of time.
The changes proposed include puffin crossing signals and improvements to traffic islands. According to a council report, “feasibility concluded that any more extensive proposals may not be economically viable and may result in traffic displacing to unsuitable residential roads.”
Further along Spital Road, a crossing is being considered across Spital Road near Vanderbyl Avenue after a petition there too.
Road safety
For 2023/24, £70,000 could be spent on traffic management including road markings, bollards and traffic signs to try and encourage more active travel like cycling and walking to school.
Wirral Council is currently piloting a School Streets scheme across Wirral though there are now plans to extend this. The local authority has asked for more powers off the Department of Transport to issue out fines for traffic offences and if granted, could see £150,000 used to expand the scheme to more schools across Wirral.
A new speed camera upgrade has also been proposed on Woodchurch Road in Oxton and Prenton.
There are also plans to expand a roundabout in Bebington to slow down approaching cars and shorten the distance people have to cross the road. The roundabout connects Kings Road, Kings Lane and Broadway.
Footpath improvements
£250,000 could also be spent on improving footpaths and bridleways across Wirral as well as improvements to some cycle lanes and active travel schemes with £3.4m being spent here. This would be spent between 2024 and 2027.
Changes in Bebington
The council also had plans to introduce the Bebington Liveable Neighbourhood Project, which aims to create “high quality public spaces.”
People were asked for their opinions on the project in 2022 which is aiming to make the streets in the town safer, reduce pollution and prettier.
The aim of the project is “to design a vibrant neighbourhood where more people walk to local shops and services and stop and chat to one another, children play out and everyone breathes cleaner air.”
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