A cycle lane that's been branded an "optical illusion" has been causing people to fall over - including one man who did so while a news photographer was on the scene. Dave Dawson was on the street when he stumbled over, being left with injuries to his hands and knees.
At the time, a photographer was there for Bristol Live and caught Mr Dawson's fall. He is one of dozens of people who've been injured there, according to figures.
Bristol Live revealed earlier this week that 59 people had been injured at Keynsham High Street, where the cycle lane was put in place last year.
After his trip, Mr Dawson spoke to Bristol Live. He 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.
“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.
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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."
Earlier this week, councillor Mark Roper, Bath and North East Somerset Council’s cabinet member for economic development, regeneration and growth, defended the council’s response to the issues.
He said: “The new Keynsham High Street cycle lane is built to the government’s current LTN120 standards, and when some early problems were identified with the double kerb down to the road surface, a series of mitigations were put in place which has had the effect of substantially reducing the number of reported incidents.
“However we have now commissioned a Stage 4 Road Safety to suggest further improvements and mitigations and prevent any further issues. This will report back early in the next administration. All reported falls are carefully examined, including by CCTV, to establish where and why they happen. We have worked with the town council and local councillors to make sure we record all incidents. The council takes this issue very seriously and is working hard to deliver further improvements.”
He added that between January and March there had been, on average, 2.3 recorded incidents per month. He added: “We actively seek out details on incidents when we hear of them even if they have not been officially recorded.”
But he defended the works done to the High Street, saying: “The Keynsham High Street regeneration programme has been a great success, reducing traffic and making it a much more pleasant environment for shoppers and visitors, and as a result we are seeing increased footfall from pre-pandemic levels and strong demand for retail space.”
