Segregating cyclists and pedestrians

Dear Sir,

I would be grateful if you could allow me to remind your readers that the deadline to respond to Cheshire East Council's Local Plan Consultation ends at midnight on Monday, 25th June 2018.

Cheshire East Council have been holding a series of public consultations in various towns throughout May and June.

I attended the public consultation at Congleton on 8th June, 2018 and appreciated the time officers of Cheshire East Council spent with me discussing, at length, different transport issues. As a result, I found the meeting most useful informative.

One of the issues we discussed was the Congleton Link Road;-

- the Congleton Link Road will be a single carriageway with a path on either side, about 3.5 miles long, linking the A534 Sandbach Road with the A536 Macclesfield Road.

- it will have a roundabout at each end and four more roundabout junctions in between.

- I was advised that both paths would be shared by both pedestrians and cyclists.

I suggested to an officer of Cheshire East Council that either one path was reserved for cyclists and the other for pedestrians/joggers or definitive lines should be drawn on both paths clearly identifying which part of both paths were reserved for cyclists and which part was reserved for pedestrians/joggers.

To my surprise, the Cheshire East officer was not supportive of either of these two proposals to separate cyclists and pedestrians/joggers. Separating pedestrians/joggers and cyclists has to make good sense especially when some cyclists travel at such high speeds and when more and more pedestrians/joggers use ipods which makes them less aware of their surroundings and potential hazards.

In 2016 three pedestrians died and a further 108 sustained serious injury following a collision with a cyclist. This figure is more than double the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured of 50 a decade earlier in 2006.

I strongly suggest that Cheshire East Council reconsider this part of the plan and ensures that cyclists and pedestrians/joggers are clearly segregated on the paths alongside the Congleton Link Road.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Douglas,

2 Hollycroft,

Congleton CW12 4SH