Drivers: End this cycle lane chaos
Councils use Covid as excuse to block roads
DRIVERS across the UK are facing traffic chaos as councils block off miles of roads to hastily install cycle lanes – which are hardly being used.
Many of the routes, most marked simply by bollards and cones, take up existing traffic lanes, narrowing busy trunk roads and causing severe congestion in towns and cities. They are being rushed out as part of a £2 billion initiative to encourage more people to cycle to work rather than use public transport or cars during the pandemic.
But they have left drivers fuming as they queue next to the empty routes – with UK Government figures showing the number using bicycles has fallen by 25 per cent since lockdown was imposed in March.
The new lanes are even holding up emergency vehicles. An ambulance crew in Sheffield on a bluelight call had to remove bollards and cones to get past stationary traffic. There has also been a furious reaction from residents who have seen roads closed in their neighbourhoods to facilitate the schemes.
As objections mount, and in a complete U-turn of the multi-millionpound project, many of the cycle routes are now being ripped up, at more cost to the taxpayer.
Today, The Mail on Sunday is asking readers to tell us your stories about the chaos caused as the new cycle lanes crop up. In a special investigation, we have found that:
One cycle route in Greater Manchester was removed after 48 hours because it created traffic mayhem;
Another route in Gloucestershire was scrapped after five days, and West Sussex County Council last week ordered the removal of 12 miles of lanes that had cost £780,000 because barely anyone was using them;
In London, a £250,000 cycle lane on the Euston Road to Marylebone Road is to be removed due to the crippling congestion created;
Thousands have backed a court challenge to overturn road closures brought in to boost cycling in the London suburb of Ealing;
Other areas where cycle lanes have been scrapped include Lancashire, Tyne and Wear, Derby, Kent and Brighton.
At the heart of the scheme is a £250 million Emergency Active Travel Fund, which gives councils special powers to install new cycle routes without public consultation.
The 20 councils where routes have been scrapped or pared back have received more than £20 million.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: ‘The fact that the Government gave local authorities just weeks to introduce schemes is a reason why some aren’t working’
Pro-cycling groups and UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps say opposition to the cycle lanes comes from a ‘vocal minority’.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘This Government is investing £27 billion to upgrade our roads in our largest road improvement programme. We have been clear we expect local authorities to engage constructively with residents to make sure any changes are right for everyone, including motorists.’