The Albion Way pop-up cycle lane is going to be removed but the problems that caused it to be built in the first place haven’t gone away.
We’re in the middle of a respiratory pandemic, an obesity and air pollution crisis, and the Government has called on councils to provide the infrastructure to transition away from unrestrained car use.
It’s easy to say you support cycling but at some point you actually have to do something. With the cycle lane being taken out we urgently need to provide alternative cycle routes through the town centre.
Forum chair Francis Vernon has written the following letter to the West Sussex County Times.
I’ll be sorry to see the Albion Way cycle lane disappear, not because it’s a great scheme (it isn’t) but because it’s a start that could and should have been improved.
The pop up lane is better for existing cyclists, but does little to help new riders: it’s short, the junction design is very poor and, crucially, it only goes one way. Unsurprisingly it hasn’t been heavily used.
Meanwhile, the number of cars now back driving on Albion Way since the first lockdown has caused some congestion.
Other councils have built schemes that deliver real benefits for the wider community, not just cyclists. We can do that in Horsham too. But we do need the local political will to change things, and public engagement to find schemes which people can broadly support – perhaps swapping the Albion Way lane for alternative routes through the town centre that would be better used and have less impact on traffic?
The quiet roads of the first lockdown in March led to a large increase in cycling, and people made it clear they wanted to cycle away from fast-moving motor traffic. We have a climate crisis made worse by vehicle pollution. We need to improve people’s health through being more active. We know that the majority of people in Horsham and the country want streets that are safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling.
The need for safe spaces for people to cycle is greater than ever.
Francis Vernon
Chair, Horsham District Cycling Forum
Francis on the Albion Way cycle lane (pic: Mark Treasure)
Very good letter. Well said.