On 13th February, Liverpool City Council published the official notice of the Gateacre Park Drive TRO (Traffic Regulation Order). The Council's advertisement in the Liverpool Echo invited anyone wishing to make representations about the proposed 20 mph speed limit and the associated traffic calming measures to send them to: Jeanette McLoughlin, City Solicitor, Legal Services, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2DH - or by email to nevil.basnett@liverpool.gov.uk - on or before 13th March 2014.

The proposal is for four pairs of speed 'cushions' - each 1.9 metres square - to be installed on Gateacre Park Drive between Grange Lane and Escor Road. There will also be two full-width speed 'tables': one at the Rockbourne Avenue junction, and the other incorporating the existing zebra crossing near Thurne Way. The existing 20 mph speed limit zone will be extended up as far as Grange Lane.

Our feeling is that these measures are not the best way of coping with the consequences of the Aldi shopping development (which is the Council's declared reason for implementing them using Aldi's money). We would prefer to see a mini-roundabout installed at the end of Grange Lane, a light-controlled crossing (pelican or puffin) in place of the existing zebra, and a series of pedestrian refuges in the middle of Gateacre Park Drive between the two.

We feel that these alternative measures - in conjunction with vehicle-activated speed indicators - would achieve the aim of slowing down traffic approaching from the south (i.e. downhill) and make for a safer turn into Gateacre Park Drive from Grange Lane. Pedestrians would find it much easier to cross Gateacre Park Drive, and bus passengers would enjoy a more comfortable journey without the additional jolts resulting from the planned series of bumps and ramps.

We shall be objecting to the draft Traffic Regulation Order, and we encourage anyone with an interest in the matter - whether as a local resident, a pedestrian, a shopper or a bus passenger - to do likewise. The closing date for objections is 13th March, and it is anticipated that the matter will then be discussed by the Council's Traffic & Highways Representation Committee (possibly on 8th April).