Crawley pop-up cycle lanes to be removed

The local authority invested in several new temporary routes for cyclists after receiving money from central Government to help support active travel as the country emerged from lockdown.

Crawley has two routes, one from Three Bridges to Manor Royal and another from Pound Hill to the town centre.

However like many other areas the changes have not gone down well with motorists and a petition calling for the Crawley lanes to be removed received more than 4,500 signatures.

Today the county council announced its decision to remove the temporary cycleways including the ones in Crawley.

Roger Elkins, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The schemes fulfilled their main objectives of offering people dedicated space to cycle rather than using public transport, or to leave the car at home and use their bike instead. This was in response to the unique set of circumstances during the first national lockdown, including schools and colleges having been closed for months and vastly-reduced public transport capacity.

“The extraordinary environment that led to their installation no longer exists even though we are about to enter into a new national lockdown: schools and colleges are open, traffic volumes have increased and, although public transport capacity is not back to pre-March levels, it is significantly improved.”

The impact of the schemes has been monitored during their operation. Feedback showed the majority of responses were opposed to the cycleways, citing increased congestion as a key issue. Automatic traffic counters also indicated relatively low usage by cyclists in comparison with other traffic.

Mr Elkins added: “I would like to thank everyone who took the time and effort to provide us with feedback for the Crawley, East Grinstead, Horsham, Shoreham and Worthing cycleway surveys.

“We remain committed to our long-standing, walking and cycling strategy with all the permanent benefits this will bring for active and sustainable travel. Recognising that we have to work closely with local communities, we have a continued ambition to support investment in sustainable and active travel and the data gathered and the experience of providing these cycleways will help us when delivering future schemes.”

The cabinet member decisions are subject to the usual call-in period.