Worthing’s A24 cycle lane a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ that will destroy lockdown recovery, traders argue

Worthing’s Town Centre Initiative, which represents many town centre businesses, has written to the county council warning of the economic impact of the scheme, which takes up two lanes of the A24 Broadwater Road.

Since its inception last month, gridlock in and out of Worthing has been a regular sight and a petition to have the lanes removed has already passed 7,000 signatures.

Town centre manager Sharon Clarke said Worthing’s town centre trade had returned to around 95 per cent of its pre-lockdown levels, but congestion risked curtailing the recovery.

If drivers cannot access the town, she said, they would simply go elsewhere.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction that just hasn’t been thought out – they are not looking at the big picture,” said Sharon.

“We totally support people coming into town by sustainable means but they have to think of the economic impact.

“When you have got a town trying to recover after a pandemic, the last thing we want to do is make it more difficult for people to come into town.”

She said TCI research showed around 50 per cent of visitors arrived by car, but only four per cent by bike in summer. In the winter, that figure drops to just two per cent.

Drivers, on average, spend around £32 each, she added, whereas cyclists typically only spend £18 each in town.

So even if numbers of cyclists were to double as a result of the new scheme, the economic impact would still be severe.

Sharon said the TCI’s survey revealed potential cyclists were concerned by a lack of secure bike racks in the town centre and fears over bike thefts.

An effective consultation process, she argued, would have revealed these concerns and allowed the scheme to be implemented more effectively.

Running in both directions between the A27 at Grove Lodge and the town centre, whole lanes of the A24 are now closed to motorists.

It is one of seven schemes in West Sussex, made possible by government funding.

West Sussex County Council said: “On May 9, the government outlined a £2billion package to support active travel and help the country emerge from the coronavirus crisis.

“The emergency active travel fund package included £225million to enable local authorities to reallocate road space to walking and cycling, with pop-up cycle lanes and other temporary measures.”

The scheme aims to support the re-opening of the economy; help lock-in some of the significant increase in active travel seen during the lockdown period and reduce pressures on public transport capacity following the introduction of social distancing measures.

Supporters have argued the scheme will reduce pollution and encourage people to be more active by making cycling on a busy road safer - taking advantage of a cycling boom seen during lockdown.

Part of the proposed route in Shoreham, east of the Holmbush Centre on the A270 Old Shoreham Road, was scrapped before work began.