£20k spent on removing lanes

Controversial Covid ‘pop-up’ cycle lanes installed on three busy roads in Ashford cost more than £20,000 to dismantle just days later, it has emerged.

The lanes were one of six projects funded by the government and implemented by the county council last year.

They were designed to encourage people to get out and exercise during the coronavirus crisis and were supposed to be trialled for a year.

Figures released to the Kentish Express under the Freedom of Information Act show that, in total, the pop-up lanes have so far cost £485,068 - including removal costs of close to £37,000.

The scheme in Ashford, in Somerset Road, Mace Lane and New Street, was the most expensive of the six, with installation of bollards, signs and road markings costing £165,881 - and their removal after a storm of protests costing £20,656.

A similar pop-up cycle lane in King Street, Maidstone, which also included traffic lights due to the road being narrowed, cost £98,099.91 to install.