‘Our town’s new £500,000 cycle lane has made the road more dangerous’
A council has been blasted for blowing half a million pounds on a cycle lane less than a mile long.
The £500,000 project in the seaside town of Gorleston, Norfolk, has been blasted for being a ‘colossal waste of money’ and drawn ire from cyclists themselves.
Locals claim the new lanes have made the street dangerously narrower and more hazardous, while retailers say the loss of parking spaces has harmed trade.
Mobility scooters have been spotted riding up and down the cycle lanes, delivery drivers regularly block them, and cyclists say they’re now forced onto the pavement to stay safe.
Resident Les West, 83, who lives on Middleton Road where the lanes have been installed, said: ‘It is a disgusting, horrendous waste of money. They have made a busy road into a dangerous one.
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‘It is a colossal waste of money, and I can’t see the point in it at all.’
Sue Bowman, 53, who works at the Rose Garden florist shop on Middleton Road, said: ‘It has gone from a safe road to a very unsafe, dangerous road. It is awful.
‘I don’t like driving on it now. The lanes you drive on are too narrow, and the road is so narrow because the cycle lanes have been put in. We are still getting people parking in the cycle lanes, and people don’t know where to park.’
Liz Spires, 66, who had come to the florist with her family, said: ‘We think it is bloody stupid. Now you are lucky if you can get two cars parked.
‘We are coming to arrange funeral flowers for my late husband, and it has been a real pain.’
The project had been hailed as Norfolk County Council’s flagship project to encourage cycling.
The scheme, funded by the government’s Active Travel Fund, has seen the creation of a new cycle lane on each side of the road.
New zebra crossings have been introduced, and new reflective wands have been added to separate the road from the cycle lanes.
Since work has been completed, locals say issues have emerged with cars stopping in the cycle lanes and vehicles blocking them off while making deliveries.
Julie Hall, 64, who lives on Middleton Road and uses her bicycle, said: ‘If someone is parked on the cycle lane, you have to ride on the pavement.
‘I cycle to the James Paget to get to work, and binmen get the waste bins that are parked in the cycle lanes.’
Anthony Hollis, 64 and another bicycle user, said: ‘I think it is a lot of money for what it is. If they had widened the pavement, they wouldn’t have had to do any of this. They could have just made the pavement wider.’
Norfolk County Council told Metro in a statement: ‘As with all road improvements, the changes take time to bed in and for people to get used to them.
‘These upgrades will provide safer cycle access between South and North Gorleston, serving the local college and town amenities. We have also improved the safety of crossings for those travelling on foot.’
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