Bungling council chiefs have been blasted for building an "insane" cycle lane littered with obstacles including a speed camera, rubbish bins, trees and lampposts. The barmy bike route in Worcester forces cyclists to zig-zag around numerous hazards. On one stretch, which is next to a busy main road, riders have to negotiate a speed camera and a lamppost which is blocking the lane. The cycle lanes, which stretch 20 miles through Worcester, are part of a multi-million project aimed at encouraging people to ditch their cars. Worcestershire County Council has installed a new segregated cycle lane along the busy New Road in Worcester as part of a pilot scheme. But cyclists blasted the lane, saying it is “more dangerous than cycling on the road”. Gran Janine Fowles, 58, from Worcester, said: “I got on my bike for the first time because the weather was nice but I was a bit surprised at the number of objects blocking the route. “It wasn’t busy when I cycled but I think people will need to be careful coming along the route. “Most cycle lanes are incorporated into the road but this one is on the wider pavements which means lampposts and speed cameras are in the way.” Dan Brothwell, chairman of cycling campaigners Bike Worcester, said the council should “hang its head in shame.” He fumed: “It’s an embarrassment, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. “The coup de grace is the effort spent painting a solid white line around the speed camera. “If the aim is to put Worcester on the map for comic reasons, the council are going about it the right way. “Rather than providing infrastructure that offers an improvement to people walking and cycling we are presented with this mess. “This does nothing to improve connectivity or continuity of the already shared use path on New Road. “The time, effort and money spent on this is a total waste, and could have had far more positive effect spent elsewhere in the city.”
