All-day bus lanes to return in Hull
COUNCILLORS CLASH AT GUILDHALL OVER ISSUE
ALL-DAY bus lane enforcement is set to return in Hull despite a preelection war or words between councillors.
It was originally meant to happen following a decision made by Hull City Council’s cabinet before Christmas after an initial 18-month trial. However, the council subsequently failed to put the necessary legal powers in place when the experimental period ended.
That has left the council powerless to carry out any enforcement at all on the bus lanes since mid-january. The authority was forced to apologise to drivers mistakenly sent £60 fixed penalty notices since then.
The blunder meant there had to be a fresh public consultation on the proposed new permanent traffic regulation order covering the fulltime switch to Cctv-based enforcement on the lanes between 7am and 6.30pm Monday to Saturday followed by a decision record signed off by council leader Daren Hale.
However, Guildhall rules allow councillors to call-in such decisions for review and the opposition Liberal Democrat group did just that, triggering a debate over the issue on what remains a big public talking point just 48 hours before polling day.
Lib Dem leader Councillor Mike Ross, one of the two signatories behind the call-in, claimed there had not been enough consultation on the idea of permanent allday enforcement. He said the fact that only three people had actually responded to the council’s latest consultation demonstrated it had not been carried out properly. He claimed there had been a lack of transparency.
Cllr Hale, who was there to justify his decision, claimed the timing of the challenge was no accident.
“I can only think why we are here today is because of the time of year it is because I don’t think this should even be here,” he said at one point.
He said the pilot scheme had improved bus reliability on the city’s major commuter routes with bus companies reporting improved running times for services. Cyclists can also use the all-day lanes.
Cllr Hale put the failure to have the necessary legal powers in place down to a “technical error” but
Councillor John Fareham disagreed. He described it as “an egregious mistake”.
There was also plenty of time for councillors to swap anecdotes. Councillor Cheryl Payne claimed people living in part of west Hull were complaining about having to spend an hour in traffic just to get into the city centre while Councillor Dean Kirk said his drive earlier in the day to from Longhill estate to the Guildhall had only taken eight minutes.
The call-in process itself left many councillors scratching their heads, having rarely been used over the last decade and leaving some unsure of how it actually worked. Eventually, with the help of a majority of opposition party councillors on committee, a vote was taken to refer the decision back to Cllr Hale.
Afterwards, even he was unsure of the next step although he said he would be confirming his original decision probably in the next few days. “I shall have to find out if I need to sign an appropriate bit of paper,” he added.