Astounded by lack of a cycle lane

Dear Sir,

I am astounded, if it is true that Cheshire East has decided not to include a separate cycle lane in the imminent Congleton Link Road as described by Anthony Bolding in last week's letter pages.

True, on the infrequent times I use the Alderley or Wheelock by-passes, I rarely come across bicycles probably for very different reasons.

With the Alderley Edge one, a huge expanse of land is used, on what I presume was previously high-quality farm land with in my view unnecessarily generous provision of virtually unused cycle lanes in each direction.

With Wheelock, there is no separate provision and it would be dangerous for cyclists to use one because of the speed of vehicles; moreover, there are many alternative routes available.

With the Congleton Link Road, I presume part of the reason is the multitude of various routes available as with Wheelock though the extra time needed to use them would make the route unrealistic at least for commuters.

However, to build today a major non-motorway road that will last for decades without a single lane for cyclists is very short-sighted and possibly against central guidelines.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Peter Hirst

Middlewich