Well, I must congratulate the Southampton Labour-controlled city council for yet another foolhardy thoughtless decision in creating a very dangerous situation, not only for cyclists but for the motorist as well.

In their warped wisdom and by using stealth undercover of the COVID 19 pandemic, they marked out cycle lanes stretching from Chilworth roundabout to stag-gates.

This road is or was a major artery into Southampton, and when we get back to some normality anytime soon the cyclist will have to use these lanes either side with the fear and apprehension of petrol tankers heavy goods lorries of every description and size, corporation buses and the hundreds of domestic vehicles many of whom would otherwise use park and ride facilities that this council seems reluctant to facilitate.

A white line will not save a cyclist who will hope that mechanical failures lack of judgement by either side, does not affect them.

Every vehicle is a potential killing machine and surely the distance between a huge lorry and a cyclist is less than the permitted overtaking distance.

What happens when the emergency services need priority of the road, there is nowhere to go other than move into theses cycle lanes which in itself creates a dangerous situation of driver and cyclist judgement, nobody is perfect.

And when the football fans arrive down that city artery in their thousands creating further congestion pollution for all those taxpaying residents who live along that stretch, did the council think of their situation?

I don't think so.

And finally what is the council going to do to enforce renegade cyclists to wear the correct clothes, helmets, lights etc and those same cyclists who treat with contempt those cycle lanes, there are many of them.

It will be a sad day when a cyclist dies or is seriously injured because of this Southampton council's act of folly.

David J Hacking

Southampton