The summer months and lock down have seen people movements by cycle at their maximum but still only accounting for about one per cent of all movements.
Vehicle traffic has been at an absolute minimum with many people not yet returning to work or shopping.
Despite these conditions a period with 50% of road surfaces withdrawn from use by general traffic has resulted in severe vehicle congestion and, at times, gridlock resulting in a totally unnecessary increase in pollution.
As children return to school and other economic activities return to more normal levels vehicular traffic will increase significantly therefore reducing the percentage of cycle people movements to probably well below one per cent.
Add to this the onset of rain and colder weather and the marginal cyclists will evaporate and once into winter numbers will fall even further. Surely the City Council cannot continue to justify allocating 50% of road surfaces to appease less than one pere cent of road users.
Councillor Leggett would have us believe that the cycle lanes in Bassett Avenue are being monitored, but as the lanes are still in place it must be concluded that the monitoring is not fit for purpose and is not reflecting the disastrous consequences of the cycle lanes.
The only other explanation is that the monitoring is purely a facade and that it has already been decided that the monitoring evidence is to be ignored.
The cycle lanes in Bassett Avenue (and for that matter the bus lanes on the approaches to the city from the east) are an economic and social disaster driving away hundreds, if not thousands, of potential consumers from city centre businesses.
It is now a matter of extreme urgency that the cycle lanes on Bassett Avenue are abandoned.
They have been proved to be unworkable even during lock down.
- LETTER - We should embrace Southampton cycle lanes
The increased gridlock and pollution which will ensue in the Autumn is simply unacceptable.
How much irreparable damage will have been done before the elections in May 2021? How many shops will have closed?
Patrick Mcclure
Southampton
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