Segregated bike lane sends delivery drivers “straight towards cyclists”

A segregated cycle lane in Manchester which provides access for delivery drivers – purportedly resulting in motorists driving head-on towards cyclists – has been slammed as “dangerous” and branded “messed up” by a commuter.

The protected bike lane on Deansgate in Manchester’s city centre was installed as part of temporary measures introduced during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those changes were made permanent over the summer, with new taller, fixed bollards added to protect cyclists from other traffic as part of Manchester City Council’s Streets For All scheme, which aims to increase walking and cycling routes in the city.

However, Dominic Parry, a 3D construction modeller from Prestwich who uses the Deansgate bike lane on his commute to work, told the Manchester Evening News that the council was “installing unsafe infrastructure”.

According to the 47-year-old, as the bike lane also provides access to a delivery bay and is only wide enough for vans in places, cyclists using it have been left with “nowhere to go”.

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“It’s dangerous, it’s more dangerous than not having the barriers there,” he said. “There could be a van parked in the delivery bay that tries to set off and it’s coming straight towards you. It seems to me that’s what’s been designed in.

“There is a dotted entrance and exit for the lane. At one point it’s as narrow as a cycle lane so if someone is parked there, where do you go?”

Manchester City Council confirmed to the newspaper that the delivery bay, which is available for loading between 6am and 10.30am according to the active travel plans, can be accessed by the cycle lane, a situation Parry described as “messed up”.

However, the council has defended the cycle lane’s layout, pointing out that a camera is set to be installed to enforce the delivery bay’s restricted loading times and to “ensure that the safety of cyclists is maximised”.

“The implementation of the revised cycling infrastructure went through a robust design process and was taken to statutory consultation where the public were able to feedback on the scheme,” a council spokesperson said.

“A Road Safety Audit was also carried out with no adverse comments received in opposition of the road’s revised layout.

“Loading is currently restricted to 6.00-10.30am, a restriction which will shortly be enforced through the use of a camera to ensure that the safety of cyclists is maximised.”