As South Ribble Council is expected to give the green light to a new leisure greenway in Penwortham, another of the town’s attempts to encourage active and sustainable travel has been criticised as a ‘huge green elephant’ in the local press.
Members of the borough council will today confirm that £314,000 will be allocated to completing the ‘Penwortham Loop’: a ten kilometre, three-metre-wide track for cyclists, walkers and runners, which will run alongside the River Ribble between Priory Park and Howick Green.
This latest active travel scheme follows the installation of a cycle superhighway which, once fully completed, will allow for a continuous active travel route between Penwortham and Preston.
The first phase of the project, along Liverpool Road on Penwortham Brow, was completed in December.
The proposals initially intended to introduce a one-way system for motor traffic on part of the route, but following a public consultation, Lancashire County Council decided to keep the existing two-way flow (though the section on Penwortham Hill has still been reduced from a dual carriageway to two lanes).
The revised scheme features a segregated two-way bike lane and, according to the council, “has been designed with the safety of walkers and cyclists in mind”, with a parallel crossing on a road hump and a central refuge island installed to allow for safer crossing.
The council hopes the cycle superhighway will capitalise on the potential demand for safe cycling along the route and build on the success of the John Horrocks Way bypass, which has reduced congestion in Penwortham by removing an estimated 14 million vehicles from the town centre during the two years of its existence.
> Multi-million pound cycling investment for Preston as part of City Deal
While the council claims that the new road layout improves safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users, encourages sustainable transport between Preston and Penwortham, and improves local air quality, some locals aren’t as convinced.
When quizzed by the Lancashire Post on the new scheme, one resident said the two-lane track was “too wide”, while another criticised the supposed lack of cyclists on the route, describing it as a “huge green elephant”.
The newspaper claimed that they only counted 12 cyclists using the route in one hour earlier this week – though the reporter failed to clarify the time of day those numbers were recorded.
There have also been anecdotal reports of motorists, unaware that the previous dual carriageway system was abolished, driving in the wrong lane towards oncoming traffic.
“It's happening all the time,” one local said. “There have been a few bumps with cars driving up the second lane and coming into contact head-on with vehicles coming down. It's a mess.”
Martin Wilkins said: “I think the cycle lane is a great idea, I just think they have over-cooked it on this one with the width. This is taking out quite a bit of road space and has made it a little bit more congested [for vehicles].”
“I'm here a lot and I don't see too many people come down here,” Joe Shackleton told the paper. “It is quite a large cycle lane and I don't think it warrants that.
“You might see two or three people go past [on bikes] in an hour or so.”
> Could UK first CYCLOPS junction be "slam dunk" for cycling?
However, Heeran Rathof, who was cycling on the bike path with his wife Sarah, said: “I think it's a good idea. It needs to be safer for pedestrians and cyclists who are using this road.
“I think if people can reduce their costs in fuel by cycling then that's a great way forward.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: “We want to get more people travelling sustainably between South Ribble and Preston and it is vital that we have the right infrastructure in place to provide a viable alternative to using the car.
“To make more space for cycling and walking, the road has been reduced from a dual carriageway to a standard width single carriageway.
“The existing central reservation was utilised to separate vehicles and cyclists, improving safety for active travel users and helping to encourage more people to cycle and walk both now and in the future.”
The next phase of the cycle superhighway project will feature a new CYCLOPS junction where Fishergate Hill meets Strand Road and Broadgate. CYCLOPS junctions – first installed in the UK in Manchester in 2020 – aim to protect pedestrians and cyclists by separating them from motor traffic and reducing crossing distances, while also cutting journey times for motorists.
As well as forming a key feature of the cycling superhighway, the remodelled junction is also part of the existing Preston Guild Wheel route.
“Currently, pedestrians and cyclists have no option but to cross the traffic, making conflict with vehicles and often creating a barrier to active travel,” the council said.
“We want to provide safety improvements in this location that will encourage more people to leave the car at home, bringing wider health and environmental benefits.”
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20 comments
Lucky buggers!
If only my local council could be so forward looking.
Apart from a leisure path that meanders up the side of the River Derwent and gets flooded every year to the point that much of it is unrideable for 6 months every year, we have absolutely nothing of this quality anywhere throughout the city.
Well done South Ribble B.C.
The most depressing thing about this article is that such schemes are in any way controversial. We desperately need to get more people cycling and walking and therefore new infrastructure is needed to help them do that, but the media, while acknowledging the need for change, sabotage it at every opportunity. They create controversy, seeking out the tiny minority of radical anti-cyclists to boost their ratings in a ferocious click war, all the while ignoring the real elephant in the room; the massive, overwhelming benefits of a change to active travel.
Contrast their coverage of this story with anything about building a new road, which will be reported in glowing terms "congestion-busting, reducing jams" etc, while conveniently skating over the incredible sums these roads cost, while they never actually achieve their stated objectives.
The Guild Wheel is brilliant for families, kids and people who don't want to take their life in their hands cycling through Preston Marina or Strand Road. The bike lane down the hill from Penny is fantastic as well - it's unfortunately emboldened the gammons to scream at you when riding down the hill on the road, on your road bike (not particularly safe to hit 60k/h in a bike lane, and it's easy to achieve that down there), but it's a small price to pay to have a safe route for families and people who otherwise would hate riding down there to have a safe place to ride.
The Lancashire Post is just about the most anti-cycling local rag in existence, and always has been
I've used this many times as instead of riding through Preston on the main roads when coming back from my sunday ride, I get on the Guild Wheel near the Mercedes garage and ride along to the new superhighway, then back along the tracks near the river to Walton Le Dale, avoiding the Guild Wheel through Miller and Avenham park as it can get too busy. Theres a lovely track alongside the south side of the Ribble all the way to Walton Le Dale, which is currently shut as a new footbridge is being installed. It's great. I see loads of cyclists using this, and any motorist getting confused about which lane to be in, quite clearly should not be behind the wheel as the road layout is very clear.
Ignore the miserable bastards. Lancashire Evening Post and Blog Preston are very anti cycling. They love to print biased anti cycling stories which always get the knuckle draggers foaming at the mouth, with the same depressing comments.
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All nice and good.
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But will it get me to the Lamb and Packet any quicker?
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Well, the Lamb and Packet closed down a while back, so it might get you there quicker, but not much point in going there anymore
“I'm here a lot and I don't see too many people come down here,” Joe Shackleton told the paper. “It is quite a large cycle lane and I don't think it warrants that
Joe Shackleton and the other deadbeat locals can go and boil their collective and dysfunctional heads- or they could take up cycling. Well done, Lancashire County Council!
Excellent news, and I now realise I crossed the works for that CYCLOPS junction when I took a couple of wheels down to Paul Hewitt's in Leyland last Friday. The view is from the Preston side looking towards Liverpool Road, with the new green cycle lanes on the right side of the carriageway by the far bus. The excellent clockwise Guild Wheel route comes in from the left and heads off right past the Nissan dealer. Although it's no use for Leyland I will sample this new superhighway when I collect the wheels
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Not sure that Guild Wheel is 'excellent', wt.
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From Broughton down to Riv. Rib., clockwise, you have to keep crossing roads into industrial estates, and it's - not to put too fine a point on it - bluddy lousy!
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Ah, Paul Hewitt Cycles, the very best wheel builder in the country bar none. I get all my bikes from Paul, and just picked up another one last week. As usual, attention to detail superb, very professional, and quite possibly the best equipped workshop of any bike shop anywhere. Paul's wheels never go out of true, he used to build wheels for the Linda McCartney squad, and built the wheels Bradley Wiggins used when he won the mountain stage of the Dauphine in 2012, Bradley also asked him to build four sets of wheels for him to take to the tour that year, but the sponsors found out and wouldn't let him use them.
Fantastic forward thinking from South Ribble. I wish my council was this proactive. It amazes me how some people simply can't join the dots. With many people complaining about the cost of living increase and even suggesting that fuel duty be reduced, a council is criticised for providing infrastructure that conveniantly allows their constituents to save money by leaving the car at home and get more healthy at the same time.
I am a very fair weather commuter so this week has been perfect. The distance is less than 10 miles each way but still probably a fuel saving close to £4.00/day. I know it's not for everyone but we also know a huge number of bikes have been sold over the last 2 years and if councils remove obstacles to cycling & walking then the only excuse left becomes "habit".
If you build it they will come.
Edit: quick calculation, if the spend is approx £300,000 and fuel costs on average 20p/mile then the cost is equivalent to 1.5m miles (seems alot) but if the population of south ribble is 100,000 then they would only have to convert 15miles/person from driving to active travel for this project to cover the council tax investment. How is that not cost effective.
I think that this would more likely be the work of Lancashire County Council Highways, rather than SRBC. Amazing they can produce such a great superhighway when all of their other cycle paths are so shit.
Here is one of LCCs less finer cycle paths. Can't work out why the picture is the wrong way, but can't seem to change it.
FTFY
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Bravo Lancs Council! Ignore the few naysayers, they haven't expressed informed opinions, just gut reactions against any kind of change.
We need this kind of infrastructure in my area but the Tory council haven't grasped the importance of actually doing anything to encourage active travel - yet.
Looking at streetview history, would definitely prefer the after. However I also hope there is plans in place to "streetclean" the leaves in the autumn.
I like how it is the cycling lanes fault that people can't tell the difference between a dual carriageway and single lane dual flow.
Looking at the example picture - although this may be "for illustration" - am I the only one thinking "look at the width of tarmac still allocated to motor vehicles"?
That includes some of the "pedestrian refuges / islands" because of course without motor vehicles they, like traffic lights, would be entirely unnecessary.
There is an elephant in this room but it's not a green one.
RE: "Green elephant" - quite right, nowadays we're could use this as an opportunity to signal more inclusivity (although I'd much rather the UK just picked one colour and stuck to it everywhere to help everyone understand the carriageway / footway). Perhaps more like this?
Looks great, but how can anyone have an opinion on how good a scheme is, in terms of encouraging users, until it is open in full? Do we assess a new bypass based on the first few miles? It is only when the whole route is opened that the more reticent cyclists (i.e most people) will start using it.
The Guild Wheel is extremely popular, where it crosses the junction seen in the artists impression it will be much better, As well as the GW users, there are a hell of a lot of cyclists who ride down the Boulevard alongside the river and continue through the park and through the old docks on their commute.
Even though I work at Walton Summit which is further south, I always try to ride from home through the park to the old cobbled bridge at Broadgate, then cross the bridge and take some cycle tracks along Preston Junction nature trail which goes almost all the way to Walton Summit, a 7.5 mile commute which has about half a mile on roads, the rest on cycle tracks.