The Albion Way pop-up cycle lane has drawn people out onto their bikes and into the town.
Approaching the Bishopric junction
People have reported that they can now safely cycle into town, either on their own or with their children.
Navigating the Waitrose roundabout
More people are cycling along Albion Way, some for the first time in their lives.
Would thay have ridden here without the new cycle lane?
Uptake amongst schoolchildren seems to be particularly high.
Riding home from school on the pop-up cycle lane
Reports of “gridlock” have been greatly exaggerated. There will be queues at busy times but then there were before the cycle lane was put in.
Sports cyclist using the new lane
The pop-up lane has shown that there is capacity to take away space from motor traffic, and aligns with WSCC’s express aim to “redistribute road space and put cycling on a par with car traffic”.
Crossing the Bishopric junction
We’ve made clear our view that any cycle lane that just goes one way is only half a solution, and that to fulfil its potential it should be extended all the way to East Street to provide a “backbone” cycle route across the town. This is especially needed since there is no easy direct access for cycling through the town centre.
Using the new cycle lane
Without a westbound cycle lane, people are forced to find an alternative safe route or else ride on the pavement.
Westbound cyclists are forced to ride on the pavement
However, even with its usefulness limited by going only one way the cycle lane has already demonstrated the demand for safe cycling routes.
Riders with trailers now have space to wobble
West Sussex will be closely monitoring the scheme for safety, for how well it is used by cyclists and for any impact on congestion and air quality.
Sports cyclist using the new lane
We’re pleased to see that some amendments have already been made to improve safety and ease use of the lane.
The new cycle lane is attracting all users
We’re recording people’s experiences of using the cycle lane so it would be great to hear your stories in the comments below.
Cycling along Albion Way is now fun!
Some of the feedback we’ve received so far:
“Although it won’t be perfect until the cycle lanes all connect, it’s another step in the right direction.”
“This lane is another piece of the jigsaw making Horsham a safer place to cycle. Perhaps it will help more children cycle safely to school and more people to cycle to the shops.”
“Although some lanes are wider than they need to be for cycles, it is good that they can be used for emergency vehicles, and that there are no railings to stop the cyclist making way by stopping on the pavement.”
“I both drive and cycle. I have not seen the traffic chaos described. From the car I now have one lane instead of two, from a bike it is one lane instead of none – a major improvement. Meanwhile, the traffic still moves freely.”
“The design is unusual in places, the key question being why does the lane only go in one direction? It means that if I do manage to reach Waitrose from the north in one piece after negotiating the roundabout, at least I can get home safety using the lane.”
“The real outcome from this asks is whether Albion Way really needs to be dual carriageway at all?”
“If it can work on single carriageway then why not make it so in both directions. Turn the spare lanes into wider pavements for pedestrians and mobility scooters, cycle track and as a long tree-lined boulevard encircling the town. This would bring movement and improve the street scene at the same time reducing the road as such barrier between the park and the town centre.”
Photos: Ruth Fletcher, Mark Treasure, Francis Vernon
It really makes me cross that money has been totally wasted on this cycle lane. I am often now caught in tge traffic this has caused in Horsham and have yet to see one cyclist!
Whoever came up with this idea should be ashsmed. It’s not been thought out at all.
Having read the comments from both sides I would like to add my opinion , today 17 th Oct the Sunday afternoon the traffic was a joke queuing back up A24 due to the impact of the cycle lane and compounded by the traffic lights at Springfield road junction and Guildford road are out of sync so they go green from Guildford road allowing traffic to turn left into Albion way and queue for lights at Springfield road . Then the A 24 light go green but you can’t move as the traffic is still waiting for Springfield road lights to change when they do Two or three cars get through !!! Result queues ,increased pollution , no one moving anywhere and massive frustration especially seeing a totally unused l lane closed off for non existent cyclists ? and all this on a Sunday one of the quieter days for traffic ?
I am sure there are cyclists using the new lane at times but in comparison to the needs of traffic to move smoothly through the town to remove one lane completely for cyclist is a very poorly thought through plan .
I agree we need cycle routes but this is not the way to go about it ? To shut down a major arterial road to 50% capacity in case a few cyclist may want or need to use it without any evidence to back up just how many people really travel by cyclist along this route is madness.
If you need any evidence to show that two lanes are required by vehicles through the centre of town cast your mind back to when the traffic lights were upgraded at both Springfield road and by the RSA building ,the lane closures created total gridlock throughout the day .
Unfortunately over the years poor road planning has resulted in very few cycle routes and there is a need to address this but in this case this is not the right solution in my opinion.
The scheme needs to be removed sooner rather than later. I have used this road for the last 12 years to get to work, and cannot believe that someone at WSCC/HDC thought the best place for this scheme was the busiest road in Horsham. The waiting time in traffic has more than doubled and this will only push pollution levels up as cars crawl through the queue. In addition to the traffic jams, it is an accident waiting to happen – the cycle lane cuts across other access roads causing a dangerous situation.
This is not encouraging more people to visit the struggling high street, and since it’s implementation I have seen a total of 3 cyclists – and these were on the Pavement! Come on HDC – get it together and identify other possible routes for a cycle path. Why don’t you re-route the cyclists through the Carfax instead…..because at the moment that’s where half of the cars are going to avoid the stupid traffic queues!
As a regular cyclist as well as a car driver, I do not see the point of a random 1/2 mile length of segregated roadway as has been created from Sainsbury roundabout to Albion Way. I haven’t seen any cyclists using it, but I have been stuck in resulting traffic congestion created by closing 50% of the road capacity. The council went through extensive consultation and planning to reach the conclusion that this road needed to be built a 2 lanes. This temporary measure appears to be justified solely on the basis that West Sussex needs 7 such schemes and Horsham was identified as a place to put one.
COVID is a disease that will be resolved and society will return to our previous patterns of work and travel.
I cycled this last Sunday With a group of 4 other people on bikes and it was great to use such a wide cycle lane and get past the other traffic so easily to get to the station. I don’t actually live in Horsham but it does seem odd from the other comments that The scheme is only one way at the moment so residents cannot cycle back home So easily!
Excellent idea, pity it has taken so long; the road should have been made like this in the first place. Cars no longer use Albion Way as a race track, nor do they cut into the nearside lane after speeding on the outside lane to beat the drivers in the left lane. Much safer! We need a lane in the opposite direction to make life safer. The slower a car goes, the less likely a serious incident will occur. Emergency vehicle can at last get through without delay, cycles simply stop and get onto the pavement. Everyone should have to take a test on a cycle and motor cycle before being allowed to drink and drive, text and drive etc.. Pity Horsham District Council, Denne Neighbourhood Council and West Sussex County Council hate cyclists.
I’ve used it a few times with my son in the back of my tandem which I would not have done before.
I agree that complaints about congestion are exaggerated but I wonder whether it’s possible to be quantitative about this- i think this will be an important point in the ongoing discussions about the cycle lane.
There are some signs associated with the cycle lane placed on the footpath- I think these should be repositioned do they do not cause an obstruction to footpath users.
The roundabout by Sainsbuys is a bloody knightmare, please sort it out, all your posts seem to be positive, have you had many negative ones? Stupid scheme to help a few cycles while pissing off the rest of the public, more reason to shop else where, abit like the Broadbridge Road scheme over priced and not wanted. I will be amazed if you allow this to be posted