Residents in a Nottinghamshire town have described plans for a new cycle path as a 'waste of money'. Nottinghamshire County Council wants to create the lane on Kirkby Folly Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield, just months after it built an unpopular cycle path on nearby High Pavement at a cost of £535,000.
The proposed lane on Kirkby Folly Road is set to be one of four new cycle lanes planned in the county, with Government funding providing the £4.6million cost. This particular path would involve grass areas being dug out and some trees being removed.
Postal worker Julie Morley, 55, said she does not believe the proposed path would benefit the area as there is already a safe path cyclists can use. She said: "I don't think it needs one personally - it's too quiet around here and it's already a safe road."
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Julie said she uses her bike 'a lot' and has never had a problem with the current path - she just hops on and it is 'fine'. She added: "I don't have any problems on my bike or issues whatsoever."
A resident who lives on Kirkby Folly Road, who did not wish to be named, said: "There's already a path there so I'm not sure if they really need anything else. I've used it before and it's absolutely fine."
Retired Kevin Warren, 66, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, lives close to the first cycle path the council created on High Pavement. Speaking of it, he said: "It was a waste of money, something over £500,000. I have never used it, and have only seen maybe about three people use it.
"They could have used that money to deal with all the potholes or for more police, that would have been good. This one will be a waste of money too."
A 47-year-old mum who lives close to Kirkby Folly Road said she does not see the purpose of a new path. She said: "I can't say that it's going to make a difference.
"It's a complete waste of money and they are going to dig up all the grass to put a path there. Nobody is going to use it and there are better things that they can spend money on."
She added that she had concerns over trees potentially having to come down, and how roadworks for the path could cause issues for residents on the street while it is built. Many residents in the town are frustrated over the plans for an additional cycle lane after witnessing the 'low usage' of the other lane on High Pavement.
Software engineer Jon Kilgallon, 36, said: "I have seen a couple of people use it but I'm not sure there was a great deal of point building it. In some ways it has been good as the cars are generally slowing down now, but I personally preferred having that dedicated left turn lane."
Bejamin Hidderd, 25, lives close to the cycle lane and said: "I don't really cycle so I haven't been on it to be honest. It's been there for a couple of months now and I haven't seen a single person use it."
Healthcare worker Sadiq Andari, 40, added: "Having a cycle path is beneficial, so I think it was a good idea. I have seen a few people use it since moving here."
The county council was asked for a response to criticism about the planned new path. However, no response was received.
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