Liverpool gay village plan goes ahead after seven years of lobbying
A Liberal party councillor has said that after seven years of lobbying, proposals for new traffic arrangements in the gay “village” will go ahead.
However, Steve Radford is angry that only Eberle Street will be permanently blocked to cars, while Cumberland Street and parts of Stanley Street will be pedestrianised from Thursdays to Mondays from either 6pm to 6am or 10pm to 5am.
Eberle St is home to gay venues such as Garland’s.
Liverpool City Council’s highways committee has decided that there should be more consultation with the public over plans for part-time pedestrianisation.
“The Lib Dem council is perveresly proposing to close streets from 6pm to 6am, but only on Thursday to Sunday nights, which I summarised as thinking it is OK to get run over on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Mr Radford, who is co-chair of the city’s Gay Business Association.
“Can anyone believe anything will be achieved by this ridiculous proposal? Why spend money on bollards for pedestrianisation on just four nights a week?”
He told PinkNews.co.uk that he will lobby for full-time pedestrianisation of Stanley St and Cumberland St, but was pleased that seven years after the “gay village” proposal was put forward, it is finally “home and dry.”
“We have got a compromise but is still inadequate – they are narrow streets that should not have through traffic – it is perverse.
“We are home and dry but is has taken a huge amount of political energy.”
Mr Radford, who is leader of the Liberal party, said that Eberle St should be closed to traffic “within weeks.”
