Council will review city’s cycle lanes in December
DECISION ON WHETHER TO KEEP ROUTES
A DECISION on whether to retain or remove some of Hull’s new cycle lanes will be made in December.
New lanes including some segregated routes have been rolled out across the city since summer last year as part of a £6m programme of so-called Active Travel schemes.
Along with extended enforcement hours for bus lanes, they have been aimed at encouraging more people to switch to cycling and public transport.
However, some of the lanes have divided opinion, with some applauding the move towards cycling while others claim that squeezing road space has just led to more congestion.
Some of the routes were installed as pilot schemes under temporary traffic regulation orders and they are currently being reviewed by Hull City Council officers.
They are sifting through responses from different transport users groups and a panel of nearly 3,000 Hull residents who are regularly asked to give feedback on council issues.
Councillor Dean Kirk, the council’s portfolio holder for transport, said responses from the panel were still being examined ahead of a full report being drawn up on potential options and recommendations to be presented in December.
Speaking at a council scrutiny meeting, he declined to give an opinion on some of the responses he had read.
However, he said: “I can see there is a theme emerging that people are concerned about. The results from the panel will be shared as soon as possible, but I think it’s only fair to wait until that piece of work is finished before we know the full picture.”
Cllr Kirk said he remained personally committed to promoting Active Travel options as one of his priorities.
He said: “I want to make it much easier and safer for people to use the roads and pavements, whether they are cyclists using the bus and cycle lanes or pedestrians using the footpaths.”
He said public attitudes to cycling were changing and pointed to the fact that 87,000 cycle journeys had been counted along the new segregated cycle lanes on Freetown Way in the city centre in a 12-month period up to June this year.
He added: “It’s all about encouraging people to adopt that kind of approach to how they get about.”
Councillor Gary Wareing said: “You cannot have a discussion about the roads without taking into consideration the huge increase in vehicle traffic we have all seen over the last decade.
“If we are talking about full separation of cyclists and motorists on parts of Beverley Road, it would only happen by losing all the trees so we have to ask whether people want to see that or see some sort of compromise.”
Councillor Dave Woods said he welcomed the new cycle lanes and used them regularly but claimed there was a need for more secure cycle parking at locations around the city and not just in the city centre.