Worthing’s Broadwater Road cycle lane not open to cyclists for two more weeks

Temporary bollards have been set up along the A24 in Worthing from the Grove Lodge roundabout into the town centre, reserving two lanes of the major through road for cyclists.

A picture gallery published by the Herald on Friday (August 14), showing the new lane, has already received more than 700 comments with the overwhelming majority unfortunately giving scathing reviews of the Government scheme.

Many commenters noted the extra traffic but no cyclists using the lane - an issue cleared up by West Sussex County Council which confirmed it is not yet open for cyclists.

A spokesman for the council said: “The Government is encouraging councils to create safe spaces to help sustainable travel, building on the significant increase in active travel seen during lockdown.

“The seven schemes in West Sussex, of which Worthing’s is one, will total 21km of new and improved temporary cycleways to promote cycling and enable sustainable travel choices: they will give safe space for cycling, as an alternative to the car, especially for short journeys.

“Please bear in mind the Worthing temporary cycleway will not be open to cyclists until it is complete, so usage cannot be fairly assessed: construction only began last week and is likely to take approximately two more weeks. As with all construction projects, there will be disruption and inconvenience, for which we apologise, and we will continue to do all we can to minimise this as much as possible.

“These schemes are trials, paid for by the Government, that aim to redistribute road space and put cycling on a par with car traffic. This is an important step to encourage more active travel and less reliance on the car. Once built, the temporary cycleways will be closely monitored to ensure they are having a positive impact on local travel: this will include how well used they are by cyclists and any positive or negative impact on congestion, safety and air quality. Adjustments will be considered and, if the schemes do not work, then some or all may be removed.

“We continue to work with bus operators and emergency services to consider their needs and have had no reports of issues, to date.

“Please see the scheme’s illustrative map and further details at www.westsussex.gov.uk/popupcyclelanes

“The Department for Transport has funded the schemes, with an allocation totalling £781,000 from the Emergency Active Travel Fund. No costs are anticipated for residents.

“We recently made a bid for funding from tranche two of the Emergency Active Travel Fund, including the Findon Valley to Findon village cycleway/footway scheme.”

The second planned cycle lane will see the A24 scheme extended by a further 2km up to Findon Village.