CRITICISM of a new cycle lane has been dismissed by an active travel group who have accused a ward councillor of 'stirring resentment'.
Some motorists, a councillor and firefighter have criticised the new lanes in Whitelegg Way, Bournemouth, for creating a “potential danger” for emergency vehicles passing through.
They claim the six inch tall raised kerbs leave them “hemmed in” and with “no escape route” as ambulances and fire engines make their way through traffic. Concern has also been raised for possible damage caused to the underside of cars when mounting the concrete kerbs.
However, BCP Council and an independent active travel group have rubbished these claims – highlighting how the Department for Transport (DfT) approved the plans and say mounting the kerb is “unnecessary”.
The Whitelegg Way development on the A347 forms part of the council’s £150m Transforming Cities scheme to create sustainable travel links across the region.
The width of the road was narrowed to make room for the cycle lanes either side of the carriageway.
Reaction to the development has been mixed. Redhill & Northbourne independent councillor Stephen Bartlett said: “In my view the new cycle lanes are a great example of how to waste millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.
“We now have problems that are entirely self-inflicted.
“I think it will hold up emergency vehicles and it could be a serious issue as the road is part of a main route to the hospital.”
This comes one month after the Echo reported a fire officer at Redhill Fire Station saying the cycle lanes prevented him from taking a fire engine to Ferndown.
Jean McLucas, from nearby Merley, said: “I feel rather claustrophobic as you are actually hemmed in by the high kerbs on the nearside.
“There is no 'escape route' to be able to move over out of the way of anything coming towards you on the wrong side of the road.”
But a BCP Council spokesperson insisted there was room for emergency vehicles to get through.
They said: “It is reassuring to see that vehicles are carefully moving to the side of the road creating space for the ambulance to pass. It is not necessary to mount the kerb and we would not advise any vehicle to do this.
“The carriageway on Whitelegg Way is between 6.4m and 6.6m wide, adhering to current national standards set by the DfT.
“It is able to be used safely by all vehicles, including emergency services vehicles, and has undergone, and will continue to undergo, a number of independent road safety audits.
“The Transforming Cities Fund programme team are working with the emergency vehicle operators and have not received any objections about Whitelegg Way.”
Independent community group BH Active Travel has also praised the cycle lane. A spokesperson told the Echo: “[This] is a really important route as it links across the conurbation, routes which we are most lacking for people to commute safely into and out of the town centre.
“The DfT approve and monitor all these schemes, built to current government standards. It’s concerning how ward councillors seem to know more about planning than the trained engineers that design and install them, helping to stir resentment in such an important period of transport shift rather than focus on facts.
“Emergency services are consulted prior to any builds and are encouraged to feed back – again, if a proposed bike lane will reduce road widths below new standards – they’re simply not built.
“We do of course sympathise with car drivers who feel ‘rather claustrophobic’ in their one tonne sofa-carrying steel boxes. Luckily, for those who are able there’s now a very safe lane they can use to alleviate this.”
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