Crash victim criticises cycle lanes
A CYCLIST from Southport has been left with a broken elbow after riding down Hoghton Street.
Chris Wright was on his way to meet his mum in the town centre when he veered into a broken bollard.
The bollards are there to separate the cycle lane from the road but have come into disrepair since being installed.
The 27-year-old said: “I was coming down Hoghton Street near the nursery and the lane didn’t have the cones inside the holders. There was maintenance being done on the traffic lights so I had to come in where the temporary traffic lights were and I hit one of the holders.
“The back end of my bike came up, flipped me off, the bike then landed on me and I scrambled out from underneath it. I instantly felt pain in my left arm. I didn’t think much of it until later on in the evening and it started to ache even more, I couldn’t extended. That’s when I went down to A&E and they said I have a broken elbow.”
Chris, who works at Sofa Clearance Outlet, was a fan of the cycle lanes when they were first introduced but sees the lack of maintenance as a “massive issue”.
He added: “I was all for them at first but them not being maintained is a massive issue. I’m obviously not going to be able to ride my bike for a while but I know I’m going to be pretty nervous when I get back on my bike.”
Southport’s cycle lanes have been a source of debate since they were introduced by Sefton Council along Hoghton Street, Talbot Street and Queens Road as part of a government scheme to encourage people to ditch their cars for bikes during the pandemic.
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: “We received a call that was made to our Contact Centre in relation to this incident and our Highways Team will now be taking all necessary action to resolve the issue.’’