A local authority has defended a newly installed contraflow cycle lane described by a Greater Manchester cyclist as “dreadful” and “an accident waiting to happen”, claiming that the lane’s green surfacing will “heighten drivers’ awareness” and ensure that motorists cross the lane with caution when exiting a parking space.

The lane on Market Street in Altrincham, the construction of which was completed today, has been introduced by Trafford Council as part of a series of public realm works, which include the installation of new footpaths, crossing points, cycling infrastructure, paving, seating, tree planters, and four disabled parking bays.

However, one local cyclist has raised the alarm about the potential dangers posed to cyclists using the new unprotected contraflow lane, which is positioned between the one-way traffic lane and a row of parking spaces, with little space between the lane and the vehicles on either side.

“Drivers leaving the parking spaces have no visibility of cyclists coming towards them, so this is an accident waiting to happen,” Greater Manchester-based cyclist Bob told road.cc.

“In addition, there are no arrows on the contraflow lane which might help drivers appreciate cyclists are coming the other way. I wanted to video it, but didn’t feel brave enough to use the cycle lane.”

Instead, Bob’s wife recorded – from the passenger seat – a video showing the motorist-eye view of the cycle lane, while exiting one of the road’s parking spaces.

“I did take the appropriate safety precautions, my wife was in the passenger seat to ensure that there were no cyclists approaching. Drivers will of course be looking in the mirror for traffic from behind,” he said.

“You can see from the video that just less than half of the drivers managed to fit their car into the space allocated, and the majority are overlapping into the cycle lane.

“My car was also completely across the cycle lane before I was in a position to see if anyone was on the cycle lane.”

Bob also claimed that Trafford Council has been “unwilling” to meet with the local cycle forum in recent years, and that he has emailed a councillor to request that either parking is suspended, or the cycle lane closed, until a safety audit is carried out on Market Lane.

“This is one of the cases where if they had spoken to the people who were going to use it before starting work then we could have saved them making this mistake,” he says. “Let’s hope it is sorted before someone is in hospital, or perhaps worse.”

> Cycling group slams “nonsense” proposal that suggests 1.3m ‘murder strip’ cycle lane against flow of traffic in Harrogate

Responding to road.cc’s request for comment, Trafford Council said that, following the completion of a road safety audit, no concerns were raised about the potential danger of motorists crossing the cycle lane – and that the use of green surface paint and ‘slow’ markings will help encourage both drivers and cyclists to use the lane with caution.

The local authority also claimed that alternative designs – such as placing the cycle lane beside the pavement – were dismissed due to concerns that motorists would simply park on the lane, rendering it “unusable”.

“Trafford Council is totally committed to the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike,” a spokesperson for the local authority told road.cc. “With regards to this cycle lane, a Stage 2 Road Safety Audit was completed and there were no concerns raised relating to the risk of vehicles crossing the cycle lane.”

They continued: “While some vehicles will need to cross the lane, they will be required to do so with caution and the green surfacing will heighten drivers’ awareness.

“As a further precaution, ‘slow’ markings have been added to the cycle lane to encourage cyclists to proceed with increased caution along this section.

“Consideration was given to the provision of a cycle lane between car parking and the footpath, however this was discounted as concerns were raised that cars would regularly park across the cycle lane making it unusable.

“Given the constraints on available space and requirement to maintain parking in the vicinity of the health and wellbeing centre, we feel the scheme as constructed is the best solution in this instance to allow for safe contraflow cycling along the one-way street.”

Trafford Council also confirmed that a Stage 3 Road Safety Audit is scheduled to take place following the scheme’s completion today, and that “any recommendations will be considered and adjustments made to the scheme where appropriate”.

Responding to Bob’s claim that the council failed to reach out to cyclists regarding the new contraflow lane and other active travel initiatives, the spokesperson said: “Trafford Council is – and always has been – more than willing to meet up with cyclists to discuss their concerns and has consulted closely with the community on various phases of the public realm improvements.”

> Contraflow cycle lane in Plymouth rendered useless by drivers parking in it

The installation of non-segregated contraflow cycle lanes has long proven a contentious one for cyclists across the UK.

Last year, we reported that a proposal made by North Yorkshire County Council – which included the potential creation of a painted, 1.3m-wide contraflow bike lane in Harrogate – was ridiculed by a local cycling campaign group, who dismissed the proposed cycle lane as a “murder strip in the gutter”.

Harrogate District Cycle Action claimed that the road in question – similar, perhaps, to Market Lane in Altrincham – was not wide enough for car parking, a general traffic lane, and cycling provision, and that the scheme would provide zero benefit to active travel in the town, and instead “may make matters worse”.

Meanwhile, in 2019, a cyclist also claimed that a contraflow bike lane in Plymouth was “useless” – thanks to the number of cars parked in it.

Cyclist Ceri Carter noted that it’s impossible to ride in the lane on Longbridge Road, with five or six vehicles parked there illegally during the week (and more at the weekends), forcing the cyclists using it to move out into oncoming traffic.