Cycling junction could reduce conflict and optimise traffic flow... but council inundated with complaints on Facebook about "road tax" and lost parking

A council's announcement that it is planning a major roads upgrade scheme, having won funding from the Department for Transport that would see a "cycle optimised" CYCLOPS junction built, "reducing areas of conflict" and "optimising traffic flow" has been met with a vocal backlash from an outspoken portion of the community who have inundated the local authority's Facebook post about the project with comments about "road tax", it being "a waste of money", and concerns parking spaces could be lost.

Despite LeicestershireLive reporting that the £1.9m of funding is coming from the Department for Transport and "already established active travel budgets", Leicestershire County Council, and a borough council that shared the survey, received plenty of social media comments criticising the cost of the proposed scheme to upgrade the A6 junction joining Regent Street, Stoughton Road and The Parade, the first CYCLOPS (Cycle Optimised Protected Signals) layout in the county.

> Could UK-first CYCLOPS junction be "slam dunk" for cycling?

The local authority ran an engagement consultation between 23 July and today (20 August), opening up a discussion about the scheme between those planning the it and residents, business owners, cycling and walking groups, emergency services and road transport groups.

The design pictured below shows the junction would largely replicate other established CYCLOPS projects across the UK, providing cyclists a segregated route across an otherwise intimidating and potentially dangerous intersection.

And while a local cycling campaign, Better Biking For Blaby District, said it is "so pleased" at the plans, a glance at the Oadby and Wigston Borough Council's Facebook communication about the proposals, the local authority having shared Leicestershire County Council's plans, shows a vocal section of the community has made a range of complaints about the junction upgrade the council says would reduce conflict between road users, optimise flow of traffic, and encourage more active travel.

The top comment on the council's post asking for resident engagement entered a "road tax" rant, claiming the authority was "already killing it [the area] with parking charges. Now you want to totally kill it with cycle crap..."

"Why waste more money on cycle lanes the cyclists don't use nor do they pay rd tax  [road tax] for," it claims, seemingly forgetting 'road tax' was abolished in 1936 when Vehicle Exercise Duty was introduced.

Another commenter stated: "It won't work! It will create further congestion on the A6 and cyclists won't use it, they don't use cycle lanes so why would they use this waste of money. If LCC want to make roads safer for cyclists they should fix the kerb edges, drains and potholes. Safer together."

A vehicle parts business owner wrote: "It looks like unfortunately they will take parking from outside my shop, might make it not viable to stay open. No parking, no car accessories shop."

The county council held two drop-in sessions for residents to make their views heard and it remains to be seen how the consultation period will impact the plans for the scheme going forward.

[📷: Planning picture of a similar CYCLOPS junction in Manchester]

Communicating the proposals, LCC said: "A CYCLOPS junction is designed to prioritise the safety of cyclists and pedestrians whilst working in harmony with motor traffic. Active Travel England has identified junctions as containing the most conflict points between cyclists and motor traffic.

"As more people make journeys by cycling and walking, the CYCLOPS scheme in Oadby aims to make the junction safer for all individuals by reducing areas of conflict between traffic, motor traffic, cyclists and pedestrians, [and] optimising the flow of traffic for motorists. We hope this will motivate more people to cycle and walk in the local area."

Cycling infrastructure projects, and other CYCLOPS junctions, have long since been a target for online outrage and vocal locals making headlines in the local press criticising councils' projects.

> YouTube driving instructor Ashley Neal visits new CYCLOPS cycling junction... and calls it an "absolutely awful waste of time and money"

A year ago, residents in St Helens said there was "nothing wrong" with an original roundabout and that the lengthy construction work on an "eyesore" cycling junction is leaving their homes "permanently covered in dirt and dust".