Worthing’s pop-up cycleway opens.
West Sussex County Council is trialing the scheme to encourage residents to leave their vehicles at home.
Worthing’s Government-funded, trial, pop-up cycleway is now open.
Would-be cyclists in West Sussex are being urged to consider leaving the car at home and try it for themselves.
West Sussex County Council has said the northbound and southbound sections, parallel with Broadwater Green, are not yet done, however efforts are ongoing to resolve an issue involving vehicles parked in that area long-term.
Meanwhile, work on Horsham’s trial cycleway is set to start on Monday (14 September).
The 0.9km protected cycle lane will be provided along Albion Way, the A281/B2237 Horsham Ring Road, by reallocating lane one of the north/eastbound carriageway.
The northbound-only route will start on Albion Way just north of the Sainsbury’s roundabout and end at Madeira Avenue.
While cycleways are being constructed, road users are advised to please allow extra time for their journeys or, if possible, seek alternative routes while the works are ongoing as delays are likely.
The council would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused during the works but its contractor will do all it can to minimise this as much as possible.
Here’s a reminder of why the cycleways are being introduced
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. 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, the council 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, The council will look to 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 here.