Ridiculous cycle lanes sighted

Apr 3 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

SIGHTINGS of ridiculous cycle lanes have flooded in, all vying to be the country’s shortest bike route. In The Journal yesterday, we reported how triathlete Karl McCracken discovered a 10-metre cycle lane outside the new Gateshead College campus.

The council defended the road marking, saying it was part of a wider development.

And as of yet, we have not had one to challenge it, but we have been inundated with other examples of pointless cycle lanes.

Malcolm Lockey, a 70-year-old retired environmental officer, was out taking photographs when he noticed an 11-metre road marking.

It is on the B1334 next to Spital Estate in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, and Mr Lockey thought it was so funny he showed his friends.

He said: “I thought until now that it was our council that were the only ones that did unusual things. But after seeing all the road markings recently, perhaps the person responsible has moved, been transferred or escaped.

“I was taking part in a digital photography course in 2004 and the tutor thought that I had learned more than he had taught in his syllabus. When I submitted a photo of a short cycle lane he thought I had ‘doctored’ my submission. We actually went down there in the car to prove I hadn’t, and we were just making fun of it.”

Mr Lockey, of West Pastures, Fallowfield, at nearby Ashington, is adamant that the road markings pose a risk to cyclists who use that stretch of road.

He said: “All they did at the council was join all the cycle lanes with the footpaths, but at that site there is no cycle route, so they just painted that on the road.

“But when the pavement re-appears, they just stopped the sign.

“I personally thinks it’s quite dangerous, because it’s on a T-junction on a busy road on a housing estate, and there’s a pedestrian crossing next to it.

“It’s a busy area, so it’s dangerous for cyclists.”

But Northumberland County Council has defended the road marking, saying it is part of a larger cycle path that runs next to the road.

A spokesperson said: “There is a cycle path that runs into Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and this cycle path is actually on the pavement at the side of the road, not on the road itself.

“At the point where this cycle path comes to a crossing on the road there is a five-metre section that is marked to guide cyclists to join the road as the cycle path does not continue on the pavement at this point.

“This marking is not a cycle lane, it is guidance for cyclists to continue their journey along the road itself.”