Skip to main content

VIDEO: People see red over white elephant of a blue bike lane

November 1, 2016
The Scottish roads authority has backpedalled on its recently improved cycle lane along a major route on the south-west coast, close to the city of Ayr.

Amid local authority concerns over traffic congestion and one man’s media-grabbing protest, the cycle lane will now be ripped out – after being installed this summer.

As the video shows, it is a protected wide lane, often painted blue. Cars appear to travel freely beside it.

But residents, city folks and local government councillors decided it was %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal one cycle lane too many Visit www.ayradvertiser.com website false http://www.ayradvertiser.com/news/14786829.The_Holmston_Road_cycle_lane_will_be_RIPPED_UP/ false false%>. Consultation with the public has meant the lane will be wiped out, as reported by the local newspaper Ayradvertiser.

On man, a 63-year-old retired engineer, decided %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal to protest Visit www.dailyrecord.co.uk website false http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/watch-ayr-mans-bizarre-rowing-8900855 false false%> by setting up a rowing machine in the middle of the €67,000 bike lane to show it is little used.

Scottish government figures show there are around 3,815km of National Cycle Network routes. Just over 1,000km are traffic-free routes which use a mix of railway path, canal towpath, forest road, shared-use path, segregated cycle lanes and redetermined rural footways. The remainder of the network is on road and, where possible, it incorporates lightly-used rural roads or quiet urban streets.

Related Content

  • Trimble boosts operator productivity
    April 21, 2015
    The US firm is raising the bar at INTERMAT 2015, showing off the new version of its control system: it could save operators up to 40% and demonstrates how Trimble keeps pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
  • SKF launches intelligent bearing technology
    January 6, 2017
    SKF Insight features intelligent wireless technology that enables bearings to communicate their operating conditions continuously, with internally powered sensors and data acquisition electronics. Bearings have long been considered the heart of rotating machinery but now SKF has made them the brain as well.
  • SKF launches intelligent bearing technology
    April 15, 2013
    SKF Insight features intelligent wireless technology that enables bearings to communicate their operating conditions continuously, with internally powered sensors and data acquisition electronics. Bearings have long been considered the heart of rotating machinery but now SKF has made them the brain as well.
  • BHS-Sonthofen highlights RSMX series crushers
    February 26, 2013
    BHS-Sonthofen is demonstrating its rotor centrifugal crushers of the RSMX series for processing hard and medium-hard rock to produce aggregate chippings and high-quality aggregates. The company says the rock-on-rock principle and the patented rotor with just two centrifugal chambers offer advantages over multi-chamber rotors, and these include the maximum input grain sizes of up to about 80mm for hard rock and up to 150mm for soft rock; optimal material flow in the rotor, free from clogging; 15-20% greater