Latest news with #cyclelanes
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Swindon town centre revamp finally set to open August
A major town junction is to reopen in August after a three year multi-million pound on the £33m transformation of Fleming Way in Swindon, to turn it into a transport hub, began in cycle lanes have been created, along with bus shelters with wheelchair access wireless charging and digital screens, more bus connections and all bus services moved to Fleming Way, the dilapidated bus station located just off Manchester Road will be demolished, Swindon Borough Council said. When the scheme was first proposed it was claimed it would increase Swindon's economic productivity by more than £28m over the first 20 years and bring wider benefits to the town Borough Council leader Jim Robbins said the new hub will replace the town's "dingy, unwelcome bus station" with facilities that will leave a "lasting first impression" on visitors."This is just the first step in improving the town centre and encouraging the private sector to invest in Swindon," he council said FI Real Estate Management, has invested £8.5m in its nearby Newbridge Square offices, and Zurich have been working closely with landlords and organisations to improve nearby areas. South Swindon MP, Heidi Alexander, said the opening marks a "major step forward" in the creation of a town centre that Swindon "can be proud of"."[It] is a vital piece of the puzzle, connecting the railway station to the town centre, attracting business investment, and improving access for local people," she works are ongoing with scheme's contractor, Colas to make sure the site is ready for opening. Fencing around the site will begin to come down from 15 August with bus companies starting to run services from Fleming Way from 31 August.
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Mounting concerns in Dundrum over traffic changes with potential to produce ‘dead village'
Business owners in Dundrum are concerned that a proposal to banish cars from a stretch of road and introduce new cycle lanes will accelerate the decline of the South Dublin village. The main street has already experienced vacancy and dereliction in recent years, with one of the State's largest shopping centres just a few minutes away. 'If a dead village is what they want, a dead village is what they're going to get,' said Lance Grossman, who operates a jeweller's on the Upper Kilmacud Road with his son Ben. The proposed DLR connector changes will deliver 8.5km of continuous walking and cycling facilities from Dún Laoghaire to Dundrum. It will also bring segregated roundabouts, bus stop upgrades, new landscaping and junction upgrades. READ MORE The scheme includes a plan for a new bus-only street on the Ballinteer Road. This will make the stretch between the Main Street junction and the Dundrum Town Centre Green Car Park accessible to buses and emergency vehicles only. The consultation period has just concluded. Liam Coughlan of Save Dundrum Village Action Committee on Main Street, Dundrum. Photograph: Kate Byrne Ruth Deveney, owner of Deveney's wine shop on Main Street, feels the idea that 'everyone can take the bus, walk or cycle in all weather' is 'unreasonable'. She said the village 'has struggled for the past 20 years as a result of the volume of vacant commercial units which have since become derelict. If we continue to follow the council's trajectory, there will be no small independent businesses left.' Ciarán Bent, who operates a general practitioner's surgery in Dundrum village, is particularly concerned about a proposal to place segregated cycle lanes on the Kilmacud Road near the Holy Cross Primary School. While he is 'not against cycling', he believes this is 'an accident waiting to happen'. 'If you have children coming down, it's a very long road with a very dangerous incline. They put their nose into the wind, they cycle like mad ... it's an adrenaline rush,' said Dr Bent. Ciarán Bent outside his GP practice on Main Street, Dundrum. He is concerned about road safety and speed. Photograph: Kate Byrne Lance Grossman noted that there are already several businesses closed down on Main Street, and the removal of cars from the street will further the closures. This will bring 'fewer new customers' into the village, he said. Dundrum Business Association chairman Darren Chambers said while they support 'the ambition' of the scheme, the corridor raises accessibility and commercial concerns. He said the project should align with 'the long overdue town centre redevelopment' while being 'informed by genuine engagement with the local community'. However, there is also local support for the scheme. Resident Seán Barry, who is a member of the DLR Dublin Cycling Campaign, feels 'the safety benefits' of the DLR connector 'are worth it'. Mr Barry, who has two children attending a local school in Dundrum, said 'they have to cross a lot of the junctions' in the village, which are 'very dangerous at the moment'. Alternative routes to the DLR connector proposed by Save Dundrum Village Action Committee. Liam Coughlan, of the Save Dundrum Village Action Committee, said he is 'not against cycleways', but is concerned because 'a lot of people are of a certain age and they require their cars to get into the village'. In a submission to Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council's public consultation, the committee offered alternative routes to the proposed DLR connector, including diverting it north of the Barton Road East-Ballinteer Road roundabout to join the Dundrum bypass. Local Labour Cllr Peter O'Brien said there are 'huge positives' to the proposed scheme. He 'understands there's concerns from local businesses – and they're legitimate concerns'. But he believes it is a net positive. 'I think it'll be great for the area, I think it'll be safer to travel for young people', he said. Green Party Cllr Robert Jones, who lives nearby, said the project would 'finally address long-standing safety concerns, especially for pedestrians and cyclists navigating increasingly busy streets, junctions and roundabouts'. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, when contacted for comment, said: 'This scheme will connect neighbourhoods east to west across the county through a safe, accessible, and attractive walking and cycling route with public realm and greening improvements.'
Telegraph
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
‘They're not on our side': Residents fume over ‘triple threat' war on motorists
As wide as a country road and stretching almost half a mile across Bournemouth, the town's cycle superhighway has so far cost more than £3 million. Some residents believe the project is symbolic of a 'war on motorists', accusing their local council of prioritising cyclists and pedestrians at the expense of drivers. According to a Freedom of Information request by the Daily Echo in 2023, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council has spent £3.4 million on Wallisdown Road's cycle lanes and has earmarked a further £120 million for a cycle lane network of almost 50 miles in south-east Dorset. At the same time, the Liberal Democrat-led council, which has declared a climate emergency, is set to close two car parks for redevelopment and could soon charge some residents £70 to park outside their own homes. 'I believe this administration and the cabinet are driven by their own personal belief system and ideology,' says Steve Moody, chairman of the BCP and Dorset Motorists group. 'You have got the cycle lanes, the closed car parks, and now these new parking charges. It's a triple threat. They are attacking motorists one step at a time.' On a Thursday afternoon, in the midst of a heat wave, The Telegraph counts just 11 cyclists – and an electric scooter rider – across half an hour on the 9ft 6in wide bike lanes either side of Wallisdown Road. On the road itself, barely wider than the two cycle lanes combined, we struggle to count the passing cars – there are just too many – and lose track once the number reaches the mid-300s. 'I spy has now been replaced locally by spot the cyclist,' jokes Mr Moody, who has lived in Bournemouth for 20 years. He claims the authority risks following the path of Oxfordshire county council, which has become notorious in recent years for introducing divisive anti-motorist policies such as low traffic neighbourhoods and traffic filters. Last week, BCP council unveiled plans to introduce parking meters along roads within half a mile of the seafront, with residents offered parking permits for £70. It follows a spate of parking incidents during the recent hot weather when tourists left their cars on pavements, grass verges and even roundabouts. Officials claim the extra revenue will help pay for more tow-trucks to take away illegally parked cars. But many residents feel they are being unfairly punished for the tourists' behaviour. Susan Deakin, 76, who lives within the proposed zone with her husband Russell, 77, says: 'It's just another way to make money, money, money. If you have visitors, they are going to have to pay a small fortune. 'The roads are atrocious, the pavements are never swept, there's no police, but they are spending money on cycle lanes. They are not on our side.' In Boscombe, a deprived suburb two miles from Bournemouth's town centre that would be affected under the plans, there is also a fear the moves will drive away business by putting off day trippers. 'Boscombe is already on its a---,' says Beverley Jones, 63, smoking a cigarette on a break from working at a nearby charity shop. 'But this is going to make it so much worse.' 'Our donors park behind us and come up the alleyway with their bags and boxes. If this goes through, a lot won't come and donate to us.' Also in Boscombe, the council is planning to close two seafront car parks. We meet George Farquhar, the town's deputy mayor, in the Hawkwood Road car park, which will soon be redeveloped into flats and a community centre, retaining just 51 of its 389 parking spaces. Mr Farquhar, 58, a former film extra who is joined by his rescue greyhound, Billy, says he usually tries to stay out of the culture war between cyclists and motorists, but can sympathise with Bournemouth drivers who feel the council is not looking out for them. He has publicly opposed the new parking permit plan, saying it will do nothing to stop tourists from parking illegally. 'Not one single day tripper will change their behaviour because they may risk a ticket because they don't do so now,' he says. 'People use the term sledgehammer to crack a nut, but they're not even laying their sledgehammer at the nut we want to crack.' There is a growing fightback against BCP's transport policies. More than 3,200 people have signed a petition expressing a lack of confidence in the council over its transport and infrastructure policies. Mr Moody presented the petition to the council at a meeting on June 3, and it will be considered further by councillors. Responding to criticism of the planned parking charges, a BCP spokesman blamed the Government for not allowing it to issue higher parking fines. The spokesman said: 'Last year we wrote directly to the Transport Secretary to ask to be part of a trial for an increase in fines; we were told we would have to wait for a national change.' On the closing car parks, the spokesman added that there would be signs redirecting people to a nearby multi-storey car park and that approximately £3 million is being invested in local transport projects, including the Boscombe Beach Bus and improvements for cycling and walking in the area. On the cycle lanes, Andy Hadley, the BCP council cabinet member for climate response, environment and energy, said: 'The Transforming Travel programme and active travel schemes aim to [...] support bus, walking and cycling journeys to create a greener, healthier and better-connected environment where people and places are linked by a modern infrastructure.' He claimed there had been a 13 per cent daily increase in cycling and 28 per cent increase in walking between 2019 and 2024 as a result of 'new infrastructure'.
The Guardian
31-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Forceful bike campaigners can undermine UK cycle lane planning, report finds
Few things rouse the ire of disgruntled road users more than cycle lanes. But a report has unveiled a surprising obstacle for local councils when planning bike infrastructure: cyclists. The study, based on interviews with dozens of councillors and local officials who lead on transport projects across the UK, found that opponents of bikes lanes and similar projects were the most uniformly hostile, but sceptical cycle campaigners were some of the harshest critics. The research, published in the journal Local Government Studies, found that slightly less than one-third of interactions about new projects with pro-cycling voices were seen as negative. One respondent to the research wrote: 'Cycling campaigners are mostly counterproductive due to their rudeness.' Another said they felt that councils 'find it harder to advocate for more cycle infrastructure, not because people don't like it, but because people feel that (from their impression from social media) nothing we ever do will make cyclists happy'. As another put it, while social media posts from cyclists might be aimed at pushing for more action, they 'can massively undermine [cycling's] case, particularly with sceptical councillors'. In a wider lesson for campaigners of all stripes, the nearly 50 councillors and officials who responded to the study said that while people on social media were often opinionated and noisy, they tended to be listened to less then those who chose other ways to communicate. Asked to list the forms of engagement most influential on eventual decisions, the councillors and officials almost all cited emails and face-to-face chats, with posts on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites seen as much more peripheral. The study, by Dr Alexander Nurse, a reader in urban planning at the University of Liverpool, found multiple concerns about a 'very toxic' and 'often abusive' debate about cycling, although this was primarily down to opponents, and often those posting anonymously on social media. This occasionally went beyond virtual targeting, with one councillor describing having details of their address and family published as a threat, while another respondent said they were followed in the street and their family was abused. Such extreme opposition, the report concluded, generally seemed to be less a reflection of actual local sentiment than, as one person called it, 'misinformation … from the libertarian fringe or organisations'. Nurse said: 'This study reveals the shocking extent of abuse directed at public officials, some of which spills into real-world intimidation. One respondent even feared for their children's safety. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'While social media is a powerful tool, it doesn't replace traditional methods when it comes to meaningful community engagement. 'Interestingly, we also found that well-meaning but overly forceful advocacy –particularly from pro-cycling campaigners – can sometimes undermine the very schemes they are trying to support. 'Although focused on cycling infrastructure, the study has broader implications for local democracies worldwide, especially those grappling with complex issues, such as climate action, urban planning, housing and public space.'
