Parish council to slow down speed cyclists

Chicanes, speed bumps, extra patrols, CCTV cameras and even painting a hole in the road, were all ideas that were put forward at the latest amenities and environment committee meeting.

The coastal path running along the beach near Shopsdam Road has seen a resurgence in the number of speed cyclists in recent months, and councillors are concerned they are going too fast.

There have been a number of accidents over the last few years involving cyclists and pedestrians along this stretch of the path.

Chair of the committee, Councillor John Hollington, said: “We are trying to address the issue before there is a serious accident.

“We will look at all the various options and see what we can do to alleviate the problem.”

The route was originally a footpath but was divided into separate cycle and walking lanes as the number of cyclists increased.

About a year ago it was converted back into a “shared space” for both cyclists and pedestrians to use.

According to Mr Hollington, the problem is with “head down, backside up” cyclists travelling very fast, who cannot easily be identified by CCTV cameras.

He said it was only a matter of time before a child was knocked down.

At the meeting, councillors discussed an incident in which an elderly man was hit by a cyclist and later died.

Councillor Ann Bridges said the problem was coming back as cycling was becoming more popular, and the council were in agreement that something had to be done.

Councillors discussed the option of installing chicanes on the route, but they could be difficult for buggies and wheelchairs to pass.

It was suggested that increased signage would only be ignored, and that CCTV was an ineffective deterrent.

At one point Councillor Fred Lewis suggested employing an artist to paint a hole in the road to discourage cyclists from speeding towards it.

Improving disabled access to Lancing Beach Green was also discussed at the meeting, as was the state of the toilet facilities, which had received a complaint.

Also discussed were the confusion over Lancing Vision and Lancing Regeneration’s Facebook pages and vandalism of the new exercise equipment.