The Dorset cycle track is 3.4 meters wide. The lanes along the bike path “per head” – just over 287 cm in one direction.
The bike path has been praised by cyclists who love the extra space and smooth surface. It is less popular with motorists who have expressed their anger and frustration with the changes in recent days.
The local Bournemouth Eco newspaper reports that “trucks have happened to rub each other’s mirrors while angry drivers yell at cyclists for not using the road. Cars turn into the adjacent lane to turn on cyclists.”
According to a report by Bournemouth Echo, provided by an employee in a nearby garage, trucks were pushed into the bike lane so they could safely pass side by side. The man added that “two trucks smashed their mirrors while trying to pass from opposite directions.”
In addition, the employee claimed that some cyclists still use the highway, despite the availability of a new, very wide bike path. According to one resident, due to the additional obstacles in the bike lane, cyclists have no choice but to take the opposite path to turn around.
Confusion about a bike lane wider than the adjacent halfway https://t.co/YjOKEwGU8r
– Bournemouth Eco (@Bournemouth Eco) August 20 2021
A 62-year-old man who lives next to the road also believes that the new bike path has caused “chaos” and that half of the traffic on the road is made up of trucks and vehicles moving shops and businesses.
The purpose of creating the bike path was to encourage people to use sustainable transportation and leave their cars at home.
