A Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor
Bike lanes are an investment, not an inconvenience
Sir, I was surprised to read Councillor Hughes’s claim that the new cycle lanes on Park Road will drive customers away from local shops.

Evidence from other cities suggests the opposite. Where protected lanes were introduced, shopkeepers reported steadier footfall, because cyclists and pedestrians tend to stop more often than drivers passing through. Parking spaces, by contrast, serve far fewer people per square metre.

Admittedly, deliveries will require careful planning, and some residents will have to change their habits. Nevertheless, those drawbacks are modest when set against cleaner air, quieter streets and fewer accidents on a road where two children were injured last year.

I therefore urge the council to run the scheme for twelve months and to publish the results, rather than to abandon it before it has been given a fair chance.
Yours faithfully,
Martin Gray, Ashford