Inverness cycle route branded 'suicidal'

A £733,000 cycle route in Inverness has been branded ‘suicidal’ by critics as cyclists are forced to weave around parked cars and oncoming traffic.

The route includes a bottleneck section on King Duncan’s Road, on the new Inverness Campus, where cars must enter the cycle lane in order to pass one another on the road.

While the council insist the route is safe and meets the standards set out by Transport Scotland, cyclists and transport charity Sustrans have criticised the authority.

Local resident John Clark told the Inverness Courier: “It is absolutely ridiculous to see just how little space there is for cyclists and pedestrians on a road that is already dangerous, particularly in winter. The lanes for traffic are only slightly bigger than the lanes for cycling.

“I tried to use the cycle route once and it was just too dangerous. You won’t catch me using that lane, it is suicidal.”

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Sustrans infrastructure manager Graeme Brown also told the Courier: “Incidents like this show a complete lack of political will from Highland Council to reclaim the road space.

“Those actually building the route have to try and accommodate everyone within the constraints they have been given. We would urge councillors to be brave and stand up for people when it comes to road space, because at the moment the constraints are just too tight.

“Until we can create proper segregation on roads, this sort of problem will be occurring all the time.”