By Wayne Kerr
the local crack pot councillor Carl Cashman has proposed building a cable car from Everton Park to Liverpool city centre — and bizarrely, he’s pointing to Colombia as his inspiration.
The councillor claims the scheme would be “similar to the Metrocable system in Medellín” — the famous urban cable car network credited with helping lower crime and violence in the South American city.
But critics say the comparison is not just flawed. It’s insulting.
Liverpool is not Medellín
Medellín’s Metrocable was built to connect poor hillside neighbourhoods to the city centre — areas so isolated that residents spent hours commuting on foot. It was a lifeline for communities cut off by geography and decades of neglect.
Everton Park is not a remote hillside in Colombia. It is a Liverpool suburb with existing bus routes, roads, and infrastructure.
One local resident said: “Comparing Everton to Medellín is ridiculous. We need better buses, safer streets, and jobs. Not a tourist attraction that’ll cost millions and benefit nobody except property developers.”
Another added: “It’s like he’s been on holiday, seen a cable car, and decided to bring it home like a souvenir. We’re not a theme park.”
The cost
No costings have been published. But critics say the money would be better spent on basic services — fixing roads, improving public transport, and investing in the communities the councillor claims to care about.
One local campaigner said: “How many potholes could be filled for the price of a cable car? How many bus routes could be saved? How many youth services could be funded? This is a vanity project dressed up as regeneration.”
Gentrification fears
There are also concerns that the cable car would accelerate gentrification — pushing up property prices and forcing out the very people it claims to help.
One source said: “We’ve seen this before. A flashy project comes in, the area becomes ‘trendy,’ and suddenly families who’ve lived here for generations can’t afford to stay. A cable car won’t lift local people up. It’ll push them out.”
The councillor responds
The councillor has defended the proposal, claiming it would “put Everton on the map” and attract investment to the area.
But for many residents, the message is clear: they don’t need a cable car. They need real solutions.
As one local put it: “If he thinks a gondola is going to fix Everton, he’s living in the clouds.”
