Cyclists in Lancaster reveal their biggest road worry

Cycling campaign group Dynamo carried out the survey over the Easter holidays, and interviewed 93 people, who said that glass on paths, and abruptly ending cycle lanes in the city centre are also big issues.

The group has launched a new campaign called Black Spots and Close Shaves urging cyclists to report crashes, incidents and potholes to the relevant authorites and also to email Dynamo at [email protected] to help them to make the case for better facilities and infrastructure.

Spokesperson Paul Stubbins said: “Everybody can see that the state of our roads is deteriorating badly, so it isn’t surprising that potholes were mentioned by one in seven of those that we spoke to as a major concern. The most frequent positive comment was for the dedicated cycle paths to Morecambe, Caton and Conder Green, that really are something to celebrate.

“There are some things that are very difficult to change, like the level of traffic on our roads, but issues of road maintenance and design are the absolute responsibility of Lancashire County Council to fix.

“As a campaign group, we have repeatedly brought safety issues to the attention of the Council, most recently around the A6 south of Lancaster following the damning Road Safety Foundation report in November 2014.

“People would be astonished how little and slow progress has been in rectifying safety concerns that have been registered with the Council. Even after much pressure, we are only now seeing small amounts of improved lining and signing on the roads and the more substantial junction design improvements have yet to be started.”

Dynamo has made proposals for a mainly off road alternative to the west of the A6, from south Lancaster into town, and also for a traffic free path from Heysham to Salt Ayre and on to Lancaster as part of the Lancaster & District Transport Masterplan consultation.

Paul added: “We keenly await the publishing of the transport masterplan in June to see if these have been included.”