Locals have been complaining about a new cycle lane that has been stuck in the middle of a town, claiming that it’s ‘confusing’ and calling it a ‘mini labyrinth’.
At first glance, it does look quite complicated, but let’s see if we can get to the bottom of it together.
It’s been placed in the centre of Bury in Greater Manchester as part of a huge project to improve cycling infrastructure.
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However, that million-pound project is being called a ‘waste of money’ by tax payers after the installation of this Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (Cyclops) junction was put in.
Simply put, it has three give-way points, six entrances, and a set of mini traffic lights.
OK, maybe not that simply put.
The idea is that it will ‘separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor traffic’ and the council hope that it will improve ‘all forms of journeys’ across the Greater Manchester area.
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Straddling the A56 and A58 roads, it also has two zebra crossings, meaning that there’s pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, and anyone else that could be involved in the junction.
It’s certainly grabbed the attention of many of the locals.
One baffled bystander was 58-year-old Lewis Miles, who said: “It’s been a complete mess from start to finish.
“The money could have been used elsewhere, fixing pot holes and things like that. I don’t think the council have been upfront about it.
“It’s complicated, and it’s caused too much traffic.
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“It would be dangerous to people who are blind or partially sighted - we have just nearby the society for the blind building in the area.
“I’ve been coming this way for a long time, and while they’ve been doing the road works, I’ve had to cross sometimes in the traffic.
“I don’t think people will use the cycle lane.
“I’ve just been on the footpath, and one of the cyclists was using that."
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A social media post criticising the infrastructure brought with it hundreds of comments from people, most of whom aren’t enamoured with their new bike path.
It’s wild how things like this can get people so up in arms, isn’t it?
One said: “Seriously just showed this my husband who is a cyclist and he's just laughed and said what a waste of money that's not going to be worth what they've spent on it.
“I personally thought it was an April Fools joke and remember that was yesterday.”
Another wrote: “Went to Bury on Thursday morning, dropped my daughter off at college.
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“I didn’t see one cyclist on the road and the same back at 3pm!
“Waste of money and causing traffic to bottleneck from Jubilee Way into Bury centre.”
A spokesperson for Bury Council said: “The works to construct the new Cyclops junction at Angouleme Way in Bury form part of the Bee Network that is being funded by Transport for Greater Manchester.
“This is a region wide initiative to improve all forms of journey by connecting communities together making it easier, safer, and more attractive for people to travel on foot or bike for everyday trips."
They added: “This particular junction is crossed by hundreds of students every day on their way to St Gabriel’s, Bury Church and Bury Grammar schools.
“The revised layout will make it easier and safer for them to walk or cycle from one side to the other.
“The cost of the scheme is in the region of £1,000,000 and represents a significant investment by TfGM in their commitment to promote Active Travel.”
Tom Wood