A PROJECT to construct a shared footpath and cycleway in Upton will start at the end of January, County Hall has confirmed.

Dorset County Council (DCC) says the new cycleway will provide the ‘missing link’ for commuters and improve access in Upton, but not everyone agrees.

Upton resident Helen Ewen describes the project as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

In particular, she has criticised plans to move the existing pelican crossings by the Poole Road/Blandford Road junction.

She said: “We are going to have to foot the bill to pay for moving these crossings barely two metres.

“The crossings have been there for years and nobody has ever complained about them,” she added.

“To move them such a short distance is a ridiculous waste of money.”

County Hall says the decision to change the existing pelican crossings to toucan crossings, enabling cyclists to use them, and to move them will actually save money.

A council spokesman explained the crossing are being moved because of the scheme’s future kerbline, which will take affect when the road is resurfaced at a later stage of the project.

County Hall also insists the cycle lane works have been timed to coincide with the gas mains repairs taking place along Blanford Road.

DCC’s Upton ward councillor Fred Drane commented on the issue: “We’ve agreed that some advanced kerbing works for the cycleway will be carried out at the same time as other planned works so that we can share road space – minimising disruption in the future – and ensure that the new road surface isn’t then dug up for cycleway works.”

Residents were given the opportunity to comment on the cycleway proposals on Wednesday, January 14, at the scout hut, St Dunstan’s Church, in Upton.