Bungling council chiefs have come under fire after unveiling a cycle lane littered with obstacles which riders claim makes the stretch of road more dangerous than before.
Tower Hamlets council has been accused of making an “expensive mistake” after it opened the £8,000 stretch, featuring lampposts and parking meters along part of busy Bethnal Green Road.
The lane is just yards from where actor Sofoklis Kostoulas, who performed at the Olympics cultural festival, was crushed to death under a lorry in October last year. Owen Pearson, secretary of cycling group Tower Hamlets Wheelers, said: “Everybody can see that this is an expensive mistake.
“When we saw the proposals, we advised the council to think again. Unfortunately they didn’t, and now this stretch of Bethnal Green Road is less pleasant and safe to cycle on than it was before.” Cycling bloggers have branded the route “woefully inadequate”, and echoed criticism that it actually makes the road more dangerous for riders.
The council has admitted it may consider performing a U-turn, paving over the lane to make it a pavement once more. A spokesman said: “So far, the route seems to be more popular with less confident cyclists and we will continue to review how it is working.”
