A Labour-run council has been accused of presiding over a “waste of money” after spending almost £4million on a bike lane measuring less than 200 metres long.
Plymouth City Council is facing fierce criticism over its £3.8million cycle lane, which stretches just 197 metres in the suburb of Plymstock.
Furious local residents have called for the scheme – which works out at roughly £20,000 per metre – to be axed.
The council intends to bore through an abandoned railway tunnel to construct the route, connecting two existing cycling paths.
Freedom of Information data obtained from the authority reveals that merely 11 cyclists on average travel along the current route each day.
Neighbours have reported experiencing health issues stemming from stress related to the construction works.
A major road has been shut to vehicles for the duration of the project, compelling drivers to follow a 2.5 mile detour.
The closure of Colesdown Hill began on February 9 and is expected to continue until April of next year.
Plymouth City Council is facing fierce criticism over its £3.8million cycle lane
|
Motorists must now travel 10 minutes to complete a journey that previously took just 60 seconds.
Mike Selby, 73, told The Telegraph: “You can genuinely count on one hand the number of cyclists. It’s ridiculous.”
He added: “It cannot offer value for money, I believe, because it’s costing too much for too little. We’re not trying to be Nimbys.”
Bill Hayes, 69, a film location manager, said: “I drive along the road two or three times a day, and I hardly ever see a cyclist.”
COUNCIL CHAOS – READ THE LATEST:
Data obtained from the authority revealed just 11 cyclists on average travel along the current route (file photo)
|
GETTY
He added: “The amount of extra petrol that residents are going to spend over the next year is going to outweigh any clean air and any green benefits that cyclists are going to bring in. It’s PC gone mad.”
According to local estimates, the new lane will reduce cycling journey times by around 68 seconds – the same amount of time it takes to dismount and walk between the two routes.
Yvie Hembry, 71, a retired IT lecturer, said: “It’s costing so much money so that a cyclist does not have to get off their bike and walk for 68 seconds. Is that value for money? No.”
Andy Lugger, Conservative opposition leader on the council, said: “It’s a vanity project, as far as I can tell.
Motorists must now travel 2.5 miles to complete a journey that previously took just one minute
|
GETTY
“There’s hundreds of things we need to spend money on. The roads are atrocious. Whether it’s Government funding or not, it’s taxpayers’ money.”
Residents received only three weeks’ warning before the road closure commenced.
Geraldine Smith, 80, said: “My social life has gone. I used to go to clubs, but I don’t do it any more because I don’t feel I can ask people to give me lifts for 14 months.”
The Government’s active travel fund and local housing developers are financing the scheme.
A Plymouth City Council spokesman said: “We completely understand and empathise with the residents of Colesdown Hill.
“We know that these works will cause disruption, and for that we again apologise.
“The 14-month closure for traffic is required due to the limited space to work in and the number of pipes and cables in the road, and the need to keep Colesdown Hill open for pedestrians, and we are doing everything we can to minimise the duration of the closure.
“We have been talking to people with a high level of dependency on care and deliveries and will continue these conversations to see if there is anything further we can do to help.”