Community's fight against 'absurd' Cleckheaton bus lane
Campaigners are continuing their battle against “absurd” plans to install a 24-hour bus lane from Oakenshaw to Chain Bar.
The introduction of a bus lane was agreed by Kirklees Council’s cabinet committee for local issues back in June.
Traffic Regulation Orders relating to routes within the A638 corridor from Oakenshaw to Dewsbury, via Cleckheaton, were considered due to objections being received.
Part of this included the widening of Bradford Road in Oakenshaw to provide a two-lane approach to Chain Bar, including a 24-hour southbound bus lane on Bradford Road.
A mandatory cycle lane at Rawfolds, Cleckheaton, was also proposed and approved.
But the decision has not deterred campaigners who claim the “vast majority” of residents and haulage companies in Low Moor and Oakenshaw were given “absolutely no opportunity” to object because they weren’t informed of the plans by Kirklees Council.
At June’s meeting, a council officer acknowledged that the consultation should have been extended and accepted that the Oakenshaw community was not “adequately covered”.
A spokesperson for the campaign group branded the planned addition of the lane “absurd” and added: “There is no justification for the bus lane. It is unwanted, unneeded, and an appalling waste of public money.
“Their admitted failure to inform anyone outside the relatively few Kirklees residents in Oakenshaw – and not even all of them – has created a massive democratic deficit. It is imperative that the scheme is cancelled before any more time or money is spent.”
Councillor Moses Crook, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for Transport and Housing, said: “The proposed bus lane on Bradford Road is part of a wider transport corridor scheme designed to tackle a stretch of highway that has been identified as an area that has significant traffic congestion and is causing delays for road users.
“Two public consultations for the scheme have already taken place and in June this year, objections raised through the statutory Traffic Regulation Order consultation were carefully considered, however, it was agreed to proceed with the scheme as advertised.
“With funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund we are introducing the bus lane to enhance bus travel, improve journey times and reduce congestion in the area.”