Council responds to cycleway criticism

By Marilyn Barber | newseditor@mags4dorset.co.uk

Dorset Council has responded to newspaper articles and comments on social media surrounding the construction of the cycleway along Wimborne Road West.

A spokesman from the Transforming Travel team – which is delivered in partnership by BCP Council and Dorset Council through the Transforming Cities Fund – said the article was fundamentally flawed and based on false assumptions. The authority took action for an immediate retraction.

He said the claim that it is one of the widest cycleways in Britain was incorrect. The cycle lane is two-way and there are many of this width across Britain.

He said: “The total width of the two-way cycle lane on Wimborne Road West is 3.5 metres and the total road width is 6.5 metres. There is nothing unusual about these widths – there are many similar in Britain – and they conform to Highway standards.

He added that the appropriate Highway design standards state that:

• Two-way cycle lanes should be between three and four metres wide. The two-way cycle lane on Wimborne Road West at 3.5m is well within these guidelines

• Two-way traffic lanes for mixed traffic should have a minimum width of six metres. The two-way traffic lane on Wimborne Road West is 6.5m wide and meets, and exceeds, this minimum standard

Jack Cousins from the AA said it was incorrect to state that ‘from a design point of view, they could have made equal room for both cyclists and drivers and built some kind of barrier or raised curb to separate the cycle lane. The two-way road (6.5m) is in fact wider than the twoway cycle lane (3.5m) and separated from the road with a raised kerb and white lines’.

Local residents were sent letters about these works ahead of construction starting.

Dorset Council said it had not received any reports of lorries clipping wing mirrors. Anyone with concerns about the work on Leigh Road/ Wimborne Road West should email transformingtravel@ dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.

The spokesman from Transforming Travel concluded that people on bikes can still legally use the road if they wish. This will remain the same when the scheme is complete however, given that the scheme is still under construction it is very likely that some cyclists will chose to use the road at this time.

BCP Council and Dorset Council were jointly awarded £79m by the Department for Transport through its TCF scheme for a programme of investment across the south east Dorset city region. This grant, plus further money from the councils, local business groups and transport companies has given a total programme budget of £102m.

The investment is funding a network of 78km of new cycle and walking routes and bus improvements across the region, connecting major housing, employment, education and retail centres. It promises to offer people safe, green and healthy travel options to get around, rather than relying on the car all the time, particularly for shorter journeys.