Pop-up cycle lanes in Preston "are not here to stay"

Lancashire County Council introduced the lanes on Penwortham Hill, Winckley Square, Preston, and Fylde Road Preston, as “emergency measures” to help people make short journeys on their bikes.

Now the lane in Winckley Square is being removed, and the others could soon follow suit.

>>>Read more about Winckley Square hereA spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “We are monitoring usage of all the pop-up cycle lanes. They’re all temporary because of the way they’ve been introduced as emergency measures in response to the coronavirus.

“There’s no intention to make them permanent features, and they couldn’t be made permanent in their current form as we’d have to present proposals and carry out full consultation before making such a significant permanent change to the highway.

“I can’t say whether that’s something we might consider after the current ‘temporary’ period if people feel they’re a good thing as it’s not something we’ve looked at. We also can’t say exactly how long the current temporary cycle lanes will be needed as part of the response to the coronavirus, however they are intended as short-term temporary measures.”

In Winckley Square, monitoring of the scheme has shown a marked reduction in traffic flows on Winckley Square since the introduction of point closures on Fishergate including at the junction with Chapel Street. Due to the safer nature of the area, the cycle lane can now be removed.

Point closures on Fishergate, including on Chapel Street, will remain in place.