New obstacle-filled cycle lane in Worcester called an embarrassment and waste of money

Worcestershire County Council has installed a new segregated cycle lane along busy New Road in Worcester as part of a pilot scheme.

But the new path has been criticised for forcing cyclists to steer past several obstacles including a speed camera, trees, lampposts and a bin.

The council said it had made sure there was enough room for cyclists and it was a compromise between ‘improving infrastructure and the multiple demands on the space.’

BIKE: Dan Brothwell, chair of Bike Worcester

Dan Brothwell, chairman of cycling campaigners Bike Worcester, said the council should “hang its head in shame.”

“It’s an embarrassment, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he said. “The coup de grace is the effort spent painting a solid white line around the speed camera.

“If the aim is to put Worcester on the map for comic reasons, the council are going about it the right way.

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“Rather than providing infrastructure that offers an improvement to people walking and cycling we are presented with this mess. This does nothing to improve connectivity or continuity of the already shared use path on New Road.

“The time, effort and money spent on this is a total waste, and could have had far more positive effect spent elsewhere in the city.”

CABINET: Cllr Mike Rouse

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Councillor Mike Rouse, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “New Road is a busy link from the city centre to St John’s for walking and cycling. 

“As a new pilot scheme, we have given pedestrians and cyclists their own separate space along the pavement, following the principles set out in the national cycling infrastructure guidance known as LTN1/20 given to all local authorities by Government.

“During the construction of the scheme, we ensured there is enough room to manoeuvre around existing street furniture on the route, and where room is limited, segregation has been suspended to help assist all users of the space to share with care.

“This is how we strike the compromise between improving cycling infrastructure and the multiple demands put on the space, including the need for streetlights, which ensure the route is illuminated and any objects like the speed camera can be avoided.”