Issue - items at meetings - Old Shoreham Road, Cycle Route Scheme

Report of the Director of Environment (copy attached).

(1)         That the Cabinet Member agrees not to proceed with the Old Shoreham Road Cycle Route scheme.

106.1          The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Environment concerning the Old Shoreham Road Cycle Route Scheme.

106.2          The Cabinet Member explained that strong views had been expressed both in support and in opposition to the proposed scheme; the council’s main concern was road safety and the potential problems were such that it would be best not to proceed with the scheme. He advised that cycling organisations did not support the proposed scheme, particularly as it did not offer a continuous route. The work that had already been completed on the scheme would not be wasted as it would contribute to work planned for some of the difficult junctions on Old Shoreham Road. He added that the council remained committed to providing cycle lanes and he hoped that the new traffic model would be able to look at cycling citywide.

106.3          Councillor Mitchell advised that the report did not provide any evidence to support not proceeding with the proposed scheme and she felt the decision had not been made in response to the consultation results. She stated that the council had accepted two tranches of Cycle Demonstration Town (CDT) funding, brought forward the scheme and carried out a consultation; she had concerns about the £93,000 already spent and would be interested in the outcome of any investigations the council undertook in relation to this.

She stated that 66% on respondents supported the scheme and this included 62% of drivers; while there was a preference for a continuous route, the majority were in favour of the whole scheme. She questioned why responses from schools and major employers were not included in the report, particularly as all responding school had supported the scheme.

She stated that professional bodies had given advice on safety, in addition to the council’s own engineers, and that technical evidence of any safety concerns should be published.

106.4          Councillor Davey advised that safety concerns had already been present in Old Shoreham Road and that the scheme would have provided the council with the opportunity to address them. He stated that the scheme had been presented as the core CDT project for the city and that no evidence had been published to support not proceeding, in particular the safety audits had not been made available.

106.5          The Cabinet Member advised that Councillor Davey had previously spoken against the proposed scheme and that he had spoken with many cyclists who had deemed the scheme to be too dangerous.

106.6          Councillor Brown, ward councillor for Stanford Ward through which part of the proposed scheme would run, reiterated the importance of safety concerns. She advised that the road was too narrow and central reservations would have to be removed, making the road less safe for pedestrians and cars. She stated that parents of school children would find the route to be too dangerous for young cyclists.

106.7          Councillor Theobald advised that he had listened to the comments both in support and in opposition to the proposed scheme and reiterated that the safety concerns were too significant to proceed with the scheme. He added that he would provide opposition Members with further information in relation to the remaining funding. 

106.8          RESOLVED - That having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Cabinet Member accepted the following recommendation:

(1)         That the Old Shoreham Road Cycle Route scheme not proceed.