Residents in the dark over street light delays

Jan 14 2008 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

RESIDENTS who have been left without street lighting in one of Liverpool’s busiest roads for over six weeks last night warned there will be a fatality unless lighting is replaced immediately.

Homeowners in Muirhead Avenue East say since the busy dual carriageway was plunged into darkness they have witnessed dozens of near-miss accidents and one 85-year-old neighbour fractured her leg after falling in the dark as she attempted to return home.

Shop owners have also said the blackout caused by work to install new electricity cables by AMEC, on behalf of National Grid, had disrupted trade so badly that sales over the Christmas period were down by 70%.

The work, organised and overseen by Enterprise Liverpool, involved the removal of two lighting columns which supplied electricity to the street lights lining the road.

Enterprise Liverpool say the work is “of great importance to the city,” claiming that due to the amount of works being under taken for the European Capital of Culture more electricity is needed.

But Muirhead Avenue East resident Helen Jamieson said residents were being put in danger.

She said: “The lack of lighting presents a serious community safety issue along this stretch of road to residents, motorists and pedestrians – especially with the road works by AMEC associated with the electricity cable renewal.

“Living directly on Muirhead Avenue East, I witness on a daily basis many near-miss car accidents and people struggling to navigate across the dual carriageway.

“Leaving and returning to my home at night is also very frightening due to the darkness and I am sure the situation is also making policing more difficult in this area.

“My neighbour Peggy fractured her leg as she came home one day and struggled to find her footing in the darkness.

“We have had no indication when this work will be completed. If we had been told this was going to happen, we could have prepared for it, but we have literally been left in the dark by Enterprise Liverpool and AMEC.”

Cllr Phil Moffatt, who represents the nearby Croxteth Ward, said “While this is not my ward, I have been approached by the shop keepers of the area in the past as they too have been affected over the Christmas period with trade being down by 70% and more.

“This indeed is a public safety issue for both pedestrians and motorists, it’s unacceptable for the work to take this long and by failing to keep the community informed adds insult to injury.

“The area of carriageway on Muirhead Avenue between Lewisham Road and Lingmell Road has been in complete darkness for over six weeks.

“I have demanded that Enterprise Liverpool get their act together and appoint engineers to address this issue with immediate effect.

“The last thing we would want are fatalities as a result of sheer lethargy.

“It is completely unacceptable that the ratepayers of this city have had to endure such a delay and drawn out programme.

“Enough is enough. It is time to get this sorted.”

In response a spokesperson for Enterprise-Liverpool said: “We are aware of the ongoing problems with this project.

“The lights were removed to allow AMEC to take up some of the grassed central reservation otherwise AMEC would have had no other option but to close Muirhead Avenue in an easterly direction.

“Enterprise Liverpool did not see this as an option and so the columns were temporarily removed.”

carolineinnes