Angry cyclists challenge council over Torquay switch

Is ‘a bit less dangerous’ really what we should be achieving?

A flagship cycle path in Torquay has been named the fourth-worst in the country.

Now Torbay Council is coming under fire for ‘failing’ cyclists as it scraps plans for a dedicated cycle lane in a £4 million harbourside revamp.

The public question time session at the latest meeting of the full council saw a succession of cyclists castigate the local authority for its attitude to bikes and bikers.

Outside the meeting, angry cyclists protested about a decision to drop a cycle lane from the harbourside project, which was taken after engineers found uncharted pipes underground and had to redesign the scheme.

The plan now is for cyclists to share the road with traffic, in a 20 mph limit zone. 

Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) claimed the new road layout would be safer for cycling than the old one, but protester Beth Huntley hit back. “Is ‘a bit less dangerous’ really what we should be achieving with this multi-million pound, once-in-a-lifetime funding?" she asked.

“This infrastructure would have been a flagship for active travel and I firmly believe that the message ‘build it and they will come’ would have been the case here, with families and people of all ages using this safe, protected, enjoyable path.

“Instead cyclists are to be given ‘safe access to the road’ - a busy, narrowed road where cars are now going to be forced to wait behind cyclists as opportunities to pass safely will be rare.”

Cllr Lewis said the discovery of the pipes had come halfway through the project, and a ‘rapid decision’ had to be made about the cycle path.

“I believe this project is a good project,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we can’t include the cycle lane, but it’s only 200 yards.

“The layout before was a bus terminal and it was highly dangerous. This will be a lot safer for cyclists.”

Dr Simon McGinnes challenged the council on the Shiphay-to-Chelston cycle path, which has a flight of 30 steps in the middle. Cyclists have to dismount and manhandle their bikes up and down, and there have been a number of accidents.

That route is fourth on the list of the worst cycle paths in the country by We Love Cycling magazine.

“That’s an achievement for Torbay,” said Dr McGinnes. “Torbay is so far behind on cycling. It needs to step up and start supporting cyclists. How genuinely does the council support active travel?”

And Mid Devon Cycling Club president Ron Keegan, who was injured falling on the cycle path steps, asked why the council had not consulted local cycling groups before axing the harbourside path.

Cllr Adam Billings (Con, Churston with Galmpton) said the council was aware of the issues around the Shiphay trail and its staircase, and said he was ‘optimistic’ the problem could be solved.

The path was originally designed several years ago with slopes and ramps instead of steps, but cost pressures meant the council compromised and built the staircase instead.