Cycle lanes on Whiteladies Road have been saved as Bristol City Council is dropping “crazy” plans to remove them. The stretch of road by the BBC building often suffers from flash flooding and the council is working on a scheme to reduce the risk of floods.
Earlier this year, in May, the council consulted the public on reducing this risk by removing cycle lanes, widening the footpaths, and creating grass verges to soak up rainwater. Cyclists previously called the plans “crazy” as they would be forced to ride closer to cars and buses.
But now the council appears to have listened to these concerns, and come up with a new draft plan, which involves keeping the bike lanes. Campaigners and councillors welcomed the change on Twitter.
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The Bristol Cycling Campaign said: “We were delighted to see the latest draft plan shown to us at a meeting today with [Cllr Don Alexander] and Bristol council officers, included retention of dedicated cycle lanes on both sides of the road.
“Cllr Alexander explained there was still a lengthy process and many stages to go through to deliver the final plan. Our thanks to Cllr Alexander and Bristol City Council for maintaining a constructive dialogue on the Whiteladies Road flood alleviation and footpath scheme, and also to our supporters for their responses to the process.”
Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Varney added: “Glad to hear the proposed removal of the cycle path no longer features in the plans. Whiteladies Road is a key route into the city and needs decent cycling infrastructure if we are to encourage active travel and reduce car dependency.”
According to the council, a new drainage system could be included as part of a "stepped cycle track", although these plans are still in the early stages.
A Bristol City Council spokesman said: “We’d like to thank everyone for giving us their feedback on the Whiteladies Road flood alleviation and footway scheme consultation. We have been exploring other options that would allow us to keep cycle lanes along this stretch of road.
"This could see us raising the height of the footways and installing a stepped cycle track that includes a new drainage system. For this to get the go-ahead it does depend on a number of factors and land not in our ownership and we are at the early stages of exploring these options.”
