'Waste of money' St. Annes cycleway extension approved as council says its focus is on safety

The £1m scheme will see the existing segregated facility for cyclists on Clifton Drive North - which begins at Squires Gate, on the border with Blackpool - lengthened by 270 metres in the direction of St. Annes.

When completed, the cycleway will run beyond its current endpoint - at the junction of Highbury Road West - through to Todmorden Road.

Highways bosses had always intended the route to extend over that distance, but the project had to be split into two phases, because there was insufficient funding available to carry out the work in one go.

As part of the extension - which will include short sections of shared cycle path and footway - other changes will be made, which a meeting of Lancashire County Council's cabinet heard are designed to improve safety for those travelling on two feet, as well as two wheels.

These include the introduction of four “refuge islands” for pedestrians trying to cross Clifton Drive North at various points, as well as a no-entry restriction on Bentinck Road for all traffic except cycles and a one-way order along a short stretch of Todmorden Road.

However, the package of proposals has proved controversial locally, with 32 objections lodged to the plans during a public consultation, compared to just 10 in support.

Nine people told County Hall that the money would be better spent on “repairing local potholes” or providing town centre parking. But the authority stressed in its response to the consultation comments that almost all of the cash for the work had been awarded by Active Travel England and so was ringenced for improving cycling and walking routes, not resurfacing roads.

The county council’s lead member for highways and active travel, Scott Smith, told the meeting that “improving safety” was “integral and vital” to the project, following a number of collisions on Clifton Drive North in recent years - with three of the accidents involving cyclists having been deemed serious.

The one-way restriction planned for Todmorden Road - meaning traffic will be unable to turn onto that route from Clifton Drive North - was also criticised by some consultation respondents for the increased distance it would require residents living just off the redesigned road to travel every time they return home.

The authority said the change will affect 36 households, whose occupiers will have another 570 metres added to their journeys.

Cabinet member Peter Buckley - who also represents the St. Annes North division through which the cycleway runs - said he appreciated “the annoyance and inconvenience” that those people will experience, especially residents of the Summerfields cul-de-sac.

“However, I do understand that it is all about safety and adhering to Department of Transport regulations,” he added.

County Cllr Buckley also welcomed the pedestrian refuges and the planned upgrade to the Highbury Road West traffic lights.

“I have been calling for a signalised pedestrian crossing there for years and the more modern system, with improved sequencing, should improve traffic flow - especially on the southbound side, which often tails back as far as Squires Gate and into Blackpool,” he said.

The refuge islands - funded by almost £36,000 of cash contributions from developers who have built housing in the area - will provide a halfway stop-off point for pedestrians crossing Clifton Drive North, which is thought to be one of the widest single-carriageway roads in Lancashire, because of the fact trams used to run down the centre of it.

Cabinet members heard that several elderly residents had complained of being left stranded and unable to get from one side of the road to the other as a result of its width and the volume of traffic using it.