Chichester cycle scheme a ‘pointless eyesore’ – could money be better spent?

Letter from: Jan Newton-Lewis, Jubilee Road, Chichester
Traffic wands along Oaklands WayTraffic wands along Oaklands Way
Traffic wands along Oaklands Way

Sarah Sharp, district councillor for Chichester South, may have hailed the new cycle routes through the city as an ‘amazing step forward’ but many residents think otherwise.

Apart from being a terrible, pointless eyesore and blight in our beautiful city, I have yet to see any cyclist use it or it being of any value. It is not the answer for cycling safety.

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I drove from New Park Road to Donnington and although I did not see any cyclists using it, I saw two cyclists at separate intervals cycling fast on the pavement in Orchard Street.

This is common practice, as well as cycling in the pedestrianised area of the city centre, putting many pedestrians, of all ages, at risk. Are there prosecutions?

Many cycling accidents are due to the high speed of motorists. Of course, we all want to protect cyclists, yet noting the great speeds that many motorists drive down New Park Road and around the corner from Oaklands Way and Spitalfields Lane (where many adults and children cross the road when the schools and college are open), I would suggest a better use of money could be spent on more 30mph signs (particularly on this dangerous corner); a mini roundabout at the bottom of College Lane; and humps (similar to the ones in Westergate) in dangerous New Park Road, to slow motorists down, protecting cyclists.

I have also seen new signs by the level crossings saying, ‘improve air quality – cut engine’, yet these new cycle routes and posts in the road have created large traffic jams, with queues of vehicles producing significant and dangerous amounts of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and other pollutants detrimental to the health of those who both visit and live in the city, particularly close to busy roads.

Finally, I would like to know how much this new scheme cost?