Fears new cycle lane will cause huge disruption

A new cycle lane could cause long delays and reduce much-needed on-street parking, residents fear.

The cycle spine is a £48m project which will connect Bishops Cleeve in north Gloucestershire to Stroud in the south, also linking Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire County Council said the scheme was designed to "help reduce carbon emissions and encourage active travel" and has proposed extending the route into south Gloucester from St Ann Way to Cole Avenue, through Linden, Podsmead and Tuffley.

Residents have complained that this extension will reduce on-street parking spaces and could increase congestion along narrow streets.

Under the consultation plans, some of the densely populated roads might also be turned into one-way routes.

Dozens of concerned residents attended a meeting about the plan on Thursday night.

Linda Vining lives in Linden near where the proposed cycle route will pass through,

She said: "I really don't think it's been thought through enough with the size of the roads and the parking, where is everybody going to park?"

Gerry Haretin, who has lived in Podsmead for 40 years, said: "My whole life is going to be disrupted by this cycle lane," she said, adding safety was her main concern.

The proposed route will Sean Neely's front door, he added: "It's going to cause a major impact on children, parking, people getting to work and we're just not happy about it, I don't think a lot of people actually want it."

The meeting was organised by Gloucester's Labour MP Alex McIntyre who said his inbox had been swamped with people raising the issue.

"The feedback I'd had consistently was the county council weren't listening well to be fair the county council turned up tonight," he said.

Councillor Roger Whyborn, cabinet member for sustainable transport and road safety, said they are reviewing responses from the community.

During the meeting, Whyborn said he appreciated the feedback and would make sure the council looks again at the issues around parking.

"We recognise that residents have raised a range of views on the proposals, and all feedback will be carefully considered," he said.

The money for the cycle spine comes from central government and has to be spent on active travel.

McIntyre agreed to lobby government to try and make that spending more flexible.

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