Calls to create a new link road to ease congestion on one of Hyndburn’s busiest roads have been dismissed.
And council leader Miles Parkinson has slammed county hall’s plans to install a 600-yard bus lane near to the Hare and Hounds junction in Clayton-le-Moors as ‘simply stupid’ and ‘illogical’.
Speaking at a council meeting he instead urged Lancashire County Council (LCC) to develop a link road between the Junction 7 Business Park in Clayton-le-Moors and the Alan Ramsbottom Way.
LCC bosses said the £300,000 southbound bus lane is part of the wider Pennine Reach bus scheme and will help reduce journey times and improve service reliability. A previous bus lane installed on the other side of the junction as part of the same scheme also provoked controversy.
The Observer revealed in September how Accrington found to have a bigger traffic problem than anywhere else in England - excluding cities.
Coun Parkinson told the meeting: “I’m going to be parochial. There are things which can be done and there are negative things which can be done.
“We only have to look in Clayton-le-Moors where Lancashire County Council are going to implement a bus lane for somewhere in the region of 600 yards.
“This council will not support something which is simply stupid and causing a bigger problem on that road.
“No one wants it and it isn’t going to make a jot of difference. It was put down at The Woodlands and that has done nothing at all to resolve the issue and it needs a proper strategic look.
“Going back many years former county councillor George Slynn did highlight the need for a relief road going through Junction 7. That’s what the county council needs to look at and not silly bus lanes.”
Alternative parking is being provided to the rear of properties on Whalley Road between Frank Street and Jubilee Street to ‘compensate for the loss of on-street parking’
An LCC spokesperson said: “A relief road linking to M65 junction 7 is not included in our current plans for the development of highways and transport in this area.
“Considerable resources would be needed to assess the case for such a proposal, and should the case be proven, a significant contribution from government needed to deliver it.”
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