The Temporary Covid pop-up cycle lane along the A259 has been operating under a temporary ETRO which is valid for 18 months from its creation. It was last amended in August 2020 and as such will expire in March 2021. Before March 2021 a decision needs to be made whether to keep the current temporary measures to make them permanent (legally permanent, not physically) or to revert the road layout to how it was previous to the scheme being implemented. This will be decided in a weeks time at the ETS committee.
The report recommends that the current ETRO to be made permanent since it delivers benefits to cyclists, pedestrians & those with disabilities as well as supporting B&H goals at carbon reduction & creation of a high quality cycling network. The report also recommends that the committee agrees that Officers should develop options for a permanent scheme to replace the current temporary infrastructure.
The report on the temporary cycle lane shows that traffic counts for cyclists has increased significantly over since the introduction of the temporary lane. In June of 2019 the AACC was 2,641, after the installation in September 2020 it increased to 3,436 and then further increased to 4,897 in June of this year. Figures in colder months also increased from 1,400 to 2,119 in March of 2018 to 2021.
During Video surveys in September 2020, about 80% of Westbound cyclists were using the new lane, whilst the rest used the original lane which is now only intended for Eastbound traffic. To increase compliance with the intended design the ramp on the Eastern end of the scheme will be redesigned make it clear and easy to join the carriageway lane. There will also be changes to signage and removal of redundant markings. A one-way order cannot be applied to the cycle lane on the pavement as one-way orders can only be used where separated from pedestrians.
Of course there are some issues with the design such as the hatched markings should be a chevon in the centre.
