There is a better route for cycle path that will cost less money to build

PHASE 3 of the Hinckley Transport Improvement Plan needed a cycle route that linked the Leicester Road/Butt Lane corner on the Mount Grace side of the road to the junction of Leicester Road and Stoneygate Drive.

The requirement of the route, as declared by the county council, was for it to service the two schools on Butt Lane and Bradgate Road.

A glance at the map would tell any reasonable person that the most obvious route would be the carriageways of the relatively tranquil Butt Lane and Bradgate Road, supplemented by a Toucan crossing to get the cyclists safely over the Leicester Road.

This proposal would have incurred the cost of the crossing plus the painting of a few bicycle icons on the carriageway. The route would therefore pass directly by both schools.

The county council engineers, however, disagree. The route they prefer is to construct a shared pedestrian/cycle way along the western side of Leicester Road. This also entails the cost of a Toucan crossing close to Mount Grace but, in addition, means that the Leicester Road pavement will need to be widened and amend- ed to meet the required minimum width for such a proposal.

This will cause disruption to the residents, pedestrians and, no doubt, motorists using the road, and will cost a considerable amount of money,

The eventual pathway will cross more than 30 entrances and exits along the road, each one threatening danger to the cyclists, who, in any event, will be travelling along a very busy road.

The plan also envisages the construction of the aforementioned Stoneygate Drive toucan crossing, even though the route will not require it. If it is argued that the crossing is needed to allow access to Bradgate Road, then that itself is an invitation for cyclists to travel down Bradgate Road and Butt Lane anyway!

In summary, then, a scheme is about to start that is more illogical, more unsafe, and more costly than the obvious alternative, and flies in the face of overwhelming opposition from the Leicester Road residents that it affects. Ron Osmond

Hinckley