The latest phase of a massive active travel scheme – the first part of which was branded “Britain’s biggest bike lane” by the Daily Mail and motorists unhappy at the infrastructure’s width – has come under fire from some locals, who claim that the project does not represent “value for money”, that “not enough” cyclists are using them, and that more road space should be allocated to drivers because they are “the majority”.
However, the scheme has not been immune to criticism from cyclists, who say the lanes are often covered in “twigs and stones”, making riding on them “dangerous”.
The new two-mile cycle lane on Wimborne Road East in Ferndown, opened earlier this year, forms part of Dorset Council’s plan to create “a safe, sustainable transport link between residential areas, local schools, and centres of employment” in the area, while also adding another section to the active travel route that connects Ferndown, Wimborne, and Poole.
Once complete, the road will feature 4.3 miles of “uninterrupted accessibility improvements” from Wimborne to Trickett’s Cross, linking residential areas with Dorset’s largest employment area.
This latest section, which stretches from Trickett’s Cross to Canford Bottom, includes new wide paths for pedestrians and cyclists with priority over adjoining roads, improved crossings with smart phasing technology, and new bus stops. The road’s speed limit has also been lowered from 40mph to 30mph.
The third and final phase of the project, which is set to be completed at the end of 2024, was funded by Active Travel England, while the phase completed earlier this year used money from the Transforming Cities Fund.
According to a Freedom of Information request by the Daily Echo, the last two-mile section of the active travel lanes on Wimborne Road East is expected to cost £7.9m once complete – prompting calls from some disgruntled residents that the scheme fails to represent value for money.
Retired shop fitter Graham Barber told the Echo that the government-funded costs of the cycle lanes cannot be justified “because there are not enough cyclists using them”.
“We can see the cycle lane from our lounge and the amount of cyclists that we see going up and down it is so little,” 73-year-old Graham said.
“I’m originally from London and I have spoken to a lot of people back there about the cycle lane here and all of them cannot believe the costs for them here.
“But the problem is the design of it – there’s a foot-wide bit against the kerb and cycleway that is just earth, and they can’t put a machine there to tidy it and nothing is ever done about it.”
Meanwhile, Tony Johnson – like many others before him when it comes to cycle lanes in Dorset – criticised the lane’s width, arguing that there should be more space for car drivers “because that’s the majority”.
“You hardly ever see any cyclists using it, sometimes you see them using the road, so what’s the point in the council putting all this money into the cycle lanes?” Tony asked.
> Row over Dorset cycle lane that drivers claim is “too wide”
However, it’s not just motorists criticising the newly installed scheme. Cyclist Elle, who lives on the road, said the lanes need to be more effectively maintained if they are to encourage cyclists to use them.
“They need to be regularly swept because twigs and leaves and stones get left on them and it can make cycling dangerous,” she said.
Nevertheless, Elle added that the lane’s installation is a positive step for local cyclists, thanks to the intimidating and “dangerous and aggressive” nature of some motorists.
“There have been times when I’ve been cycling and had people shouting at me,” she added. “I’m usually quite tough and ignore it, but sometimes it does get to you.”
Responding to the criticisms, a spokesperson for Dorset Council said: “The work in Wimborne Road East is funded by central government.
“It is not only a route for cyclists, but provides a safe route for pedestrians, including children getting to a from school, and users of mobility aids.”
As noted above, this isn’t the first time that Dorset’s ambitious cycling and active travel projects have come in for criticism from drivers and cyclists alike.
In 2021, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council attracted the ire of the national press for giving the green light to an 11ft-wide cycle lane on Wimborne Road West, dubbed “Britain’s biggest bike lane” by the Daily Telegraph and “shambolic” by the Mail, who also claimed that motorists were now afforded less space on the road than cyclists and “forced to pull over to avoid a crash” thanks to the lane.
Later that year, another new cycle lane in Poole – this time nine and a half feet wide – was branded “unsightly and a mess” by some locals, who also questioned the number of cyclists using the dedicated infrastructure.
And in 2023, the Wimborne cycle lane once again made headlines, as the Mail published a photo of a female cyclist “caught on camera brazenly ignoring Britain’s widest cycling lane as she rides in lane dedicated to other traffic instead… In order to get around her, a van has to pull into the opposite lane.”
However, several local cyclists pointed out that the cycle lane was in fact closed at the time of the photo due to construction work and that, in any case, the lane in question is “so littered with stones you’re almost guaranteed a puncture”.
15 thoughts on ““Waste of money” cycle lane slammed, as some locals call for more space for drivers – “because that’s the majority””
So these motorists want more
So these motorists want more road space allocated to motor vehicles because they’re in the majority? Even if the cycle lane got turned back into carriageway, it wouldn’t create even one additional motor vehicle lane, would it? All it would do is make the main carriageway lanes wider. Which seems rather inefficient…
Some drivers get pissy when
Some drivers get pissy when their lanes are shrunk as they have to concerntrate more to keep control of their tin can. I know from experience!
Happened to a major cycle
Happened to a major cycle lane in Brighton. People complained to councillors about it taking a lane away from cars so it was removed, but no lane markings were added so people keep driving single down it now anyway..
This is a fundamental issue
This is a fundamental issue with so many bike lanes. The ones that are shit and just painted on the road are worse than none at all because far too many idiots think that 1.5m doesn’t apply when you are in your magical protected cycle lane. Then theres the potholes and general road debris that accumulates there.
The separated ones near us are just as bad a lot of the year with lifted and cracked surface and for a not insubstantial amount of time they are a death trap because they are covered in rotting leaves. Oh and they go over dozens of driveways and exits so you have to stop a lot in case a driver decides to come ploughing out of them.
Basically, ride in the road. Its faster and safer. Oh and the cycle lane is so short that you will have to be in the road for 90% of your journey anyway.
Agreed. I would prefer we
Agreed. I would prefer we stop paying lip service to cycling infrastructuere and merge all cycle lanes back on to the highway.
Wider roads which give us room to co-exist with motorists are way safer than narrow strips of paint and stop/start cycle lanes.
I would prefer we stop
I would prefer we stop “paying lip service to cycling infrastructure” and … actually build proper cycling infrastructure (best guidelines in UK here / Scotland here).
Aside from “making all the drivers go away”* that is the only thing which has been shown (repeatedly) to get more than “me and my pals” cycling. Other than from “round the park” / Centre Parcs.
* Seems essentially impossible in the UK without other things like “revolution!” or “Godzilla!” which mean any bets are off)
“Coexisting with motorists” – well, it’s statistically safe to cycle, but even “cyclists” have a lot of complaints about drivers (even if they are still able to articulate them after whatever bad thing happened).
Your idea actually sounds worse than “let’s just ask drivers to share the roads nicely again“. Wide roads are exactly what encourages motorists to relax … and put the foot down.
(And making things more convenient for drivers tends – all things equal – to generate more driving.)
I don’t have the numbers but I’d hazard a guess that wide roads don’t actually have great KSI numbers as well as feeling hostile. (You can probably find them though – look at the USA!) Except for e.g. motorways – good KSI stats for cycling because zero cyclists there. Wide roads period may be slightly better than narrow twisty country roads, but wide twisty country roads will probably be just as bad.
There are a lot of LED signs
There are a lot of LED signs installed on the cycle lanes near me that count the passing cyclists. Some of them are putting up big numbers showing a lot of usage, you can walk by them and see the numbers (or read them while stuck in traffic, if you weren’t looking at your phone), but you can still find people saying ‘no one uses these cycle lanes’.
The local (to me) cycle
The local (to me) cycle campaign group is considering buying a Telraam traffic counter which is placed in a window on a busy street and provides the total number of cars, cyclists and pedestrians going past in a given period.
https://www.the-spokesmen.com/telraam/
In the video afaics they only
In the video afaics they only have people riding cycles who are dressed up like moron from Mars.
Well, idiots clearly are a
Well, idiots clearly are a majority also, so the opposite is true, they have to be opposed wherever possible.
If self entitled drivers
If self entitled drivers drove according to the highway code and within speed limits, cyclists wouldn’t need cycle lanes, idiots!
Did residents say the same
Did residents say the same about the M1 immediately after it was built? ATE is trying to turn around 60 years of driving centric culture.
Looks like it has terrible
Looks like it has terrible pinch points like normal, if cyclists start using nice conflict with pedestrians
“And don’t get me started on
“And don’t get me started on houses. You hardly ever see any people inside a house during the day, so what’s the point in putting all this money into more housing?” – Tony Johnson, probably
Saying you don’t need cyclelanes because you don’t see people cycling is like saying you don’t need a bridge because you never see anyone drive through the river, or you don’t need a motorway bypass because you don’t see drivers taking cross-country shortcuts, etc etc
Another thing – look at any new housing development, what’s the first thing to get built? Roads. How would people feel if you said “Go live in a house in the middle of a field. Once you and a bunch of your mates start driving your cars up and down the field every day, we’ll think about putting a road in.”
Don’t cars already take up
Don’t cars already take up the majority of roads? What about motorways? Drivers should stick to those.