A man from Hanham has become the latest casualty of Keynsham's "optical illusion" cycle lane. Dave Dawson was visiting the high street earlier today (Thursday) when he sustained injuries to his hands and knees as he stepped off the kerb's edge.
It was revealed yesterday that 59 people had been injured on Keynsham High Street, where a cycle lane was installed last year. Mr Dawson, who is retired, has spoken to Bristol Live about becoming the latest person to fall victim to the cycle lane after he was seen tripping over the edge of the kerb.
Mr Dawson said: “I was walking along the pavement, and it’s sort of like an optical illusion; it looks as is if it's all level. I was walking back towards the church and stepped with my right foot on the edge of the pavement because it looked flat, and I lost my balance and fell down.
Read More: Anger as 'optical illusion' Keynsham cycle lane leads to staggering number of injuries
“I cut the palms of my hands and my knees a bit because the surface of the cycle lane is very sharp. When I came back up the road, I was obviously quite conscious of the kerb because I’d fallen over, and lo and behold, I fell over going back as well! Exactly the same.
“The trouble is that in some places on the high street, the cycle path uses the same principle, but the cycle path is level with the kerb, but as you walk along, it drops down about two inches. I think it’s where they thought people would be crossing."
After nine months of work, the new cycle lane was opened in March 2022, beginning an odd phenomenon of people falling in the high street. Many people have echoed Mr Dawson's description of road markings as an “optical illusion”, as there are kerbs and painted white lines that look similar.
Since its introduction, 21 people have pursued personal injury compensation claims against the council in relation to the road. Seven of these have been rejected, but the rest remain open and under investigation. Council bosses stated that no insurance claims have currently been settled, and no other payments have been made to anyone.
Although the incident put a downer on his day, Mr Dawson said the “embarrassment” was worse than his injuries. He said, "I'm 76 but still pretty active. So as soon as I realised what had happened, I got back up so it wasn't the end of the world. It’s only grazes, I just cleaned it up myself.
“And everybody who asked ‘Are you alright’ as I got up, they all said ‘We’ve all done it.’ Lots of people have done it and not been seriously hurt.
“I’m not intending to make any claim or anything like that. I feel if I did that, you’re only claiming against your own money because it comes from the council.
“I think, in all honesty, the intention [of the cycle path] is good, and apparently, it's to the government standards, but I think they’ve made a mistake. It will have to be rectified, but it’s getting them to admit they were wrong. We all make mistakes."
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