Worthing - Broadwater Cycle Path: A Personal View

Once upon a time if you wanted to cycle round a roundabout, you just quickly checked behind you, indicated, and cycled round the roundabout giving way to the right until you got to your desired exit before carrying on your way. Quick and simple.

Not so for West Sussex County Council! For £161,000 of taxpayers money, they are constructing a wonderful assault course for cyclists to get them from Broadwater on the outskirts to Worthing Town Centre.

Yes, now cyclists traveling from town have to go on to the pavement (sorry, shared use facility) putting them into direct conflict with pedestrians and cars pulling into and out of the petrol station on Sompting Avenue. Of course the cycling experts at WSCC didn't think to keep the new pavement (sorry, shared use facility) nice and level creating a small speed bump for cars swinging in and out of the petrol station (we can't inconvenience them can we!).

There then follows a delightful stop/start meandering medley as cyclists have to wait at each entrance/exit for cars, buses, lorries and of course, me. I shan't be using this well intentioned but poorly executed scheme as I prefer to cycle where it's safest - moving with the flow of traffic, obeying the highway code and indicating clearly when I need to turn. I don't know how the council have achieved it but they've again made a simple act like cycling into a dangerous, slow activity. Also a schizophrenic activity as new cyclists will think they can cycle on any pavement (sorry, shared use facility, no wait).

Whilst I acknowledge this scheme may benefit younger riders heading to school, one can't help but wonder if something shouldn't be done to address the behaviour of the large, heavy and potentially lethal metal boxes travelling through our town instead of trying to clear everything else out of their way. Thanks to this scheme, the large metal boxes can travel faster which is a bit silly when you have two primary schools and a maternity clinic nearby.

I'll get some more piccys when it's finished. Note in one picture they are building a nice pinch point at quite a fast exit. We can't call them pinch points now by the way - they have to be called 'Pedestrian Build Outs' (this, to quote Steve Coogan, is coming from designers who don't go to the toilet but engage in an 'Armitage Shanks Defecation Interface Scenario').