Work to begin on temporary cycle lane in Horsham town centre

On Monday (September 14), work wlil comments on 0.9km of protected cycle lane along Albion Way, the A281/B2237 Horsham ring road, by reallocating one lane of the north/eastbound carriagway.

The northbound-only route will start in Albion Way, just north of the Sainsbury's roundabout, and end at Madeira Avenue.

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council advised road users to allow extra time for journeys or to seek alternative routes while construction was ongoing.

The spokesman provided a reminder to residents of why the cycle lanes are being put in place.

"The seven pop-up cycleways for West Sussex – funded by the Government – will create safe space for active travel and encourage people to cycle rather than use the car," he said.

"They are an emergency response to increase travel options as part of the Government-led recovery plan from Covid-19.

"The introduction of social distancing has reduced public transport capacity and people from different households are discouraged from car sharing.

"As an emergency response, the Government required the seven trial schemes to be planned and installed within three months. Given the timeframe, we consulted key partners including district and borough councils, emergency services and bus operators. Normally schemes of this nature would take years to develop and be subject to various stages of public consultation that might last two or more months and involve exhibitions, etc. This was not possible given the timescale limitations required.

"The cycleway routes are the result of collaborative work with the district and borough councils. Once fully installed and open, we will be encouraging would-be cyclists to experience the cycleways for themselves. This will be the chance for people to show how much they want the cycleway to stay.

"The schemes will be closely monitored to see how well used they are and any positive or negative impacts on congestion, safety and air quality. Adjustments will be considered and, if any of them do not work, they may be removed.

"Updates on the schemes, and feedback surveys, will be available online at www.westsussex.gov.uk/popupcyclelanes"