Government had ‘little choice’ but to introduce pop-up cycle lanes

Although commuters are slowly returning to public transport with numbers using the lane reducing as a result, vehicles using the Grove Lodge to town-centre section of the A24 are still higher than pre-Covid, according to the traffic counter near Manor Sports Ground.

While there is news about the new cycle lane on the county council’s website, publicity for it has been poor, resulting in misinformation.

For instance, ever since the late 1960s, when the A24 into town was dualled, the pinch points at the main Broadwater shops and bridge has caused congestion, especially at commuter times – a very long time before any cycle lane.

Yes, to have half a carriageway mostly dedicated to sustainable mobility is unusual in this country, but this was an emergency measure to allow key workers mobility in order to prevent critical services seizing up should public transport stop and fuel become difficult. The Government had little choice in my opinion.