Harbourside Promenade to get a protected two-way cycle lane after consultation

A protected two-way cycle lane will be built along the full length of Harbourside Promenade next year, the council has confirmed, after a public consultation found majority support for the scheme. The 2.4-kilometre route will run between the Old Quay swing bridge and Fenwick Point and will be separated from traffic by a raised kerb, planters and a strip of new trees.

The promenade is already popular with cyclists, but at present they share the road with buses and delivery lorries or squeeze on to the crowded pavement. Collision figures collected by the council show 17 people on bikes were injured on the seafront over the past three years, four of them seriously.

More than 5,100 people responded to the consultation over the summer. Around 62 per cent supported the plan, 29 per cent opposed it and the rest were undecided. Many of those in favour said they would cycle to work or school if the route felt safer, while the most common objection was the loss of a traffic lane on a road that becomes busy on summer weekends.

Changes after feedback

In response, the council has kept 60 of the 85 parking spaces originally due to be removed, added two new loading bays for businesses and moved a bus stop so that passengers do not step directly into the cycle lane. Crossing points with raised tables will be installed at the four busiest junctions to slow turning traffic.

We listened, and the scheme is better for it. It now works for people on bikes without forgetting the people who run businesses along the front.

So said Councillor Bridget Ollerton, who chairs the transport committee. Some traders remain unconvinced. Gareth Lyle, who runs an ice-cream kiosk near the bandstand, said he feared customers who drive in from the Asher Valley would go elsewhere. Others pointed to the success of a similar lane in Velde, the city's twin town, where footfall rose after it opened.

Work is expected to start in February and finish before the summer holidays, with the road kept open throughout. The scheme costs €6.8 million and is largely funded by a regional active travel grant.