Rotherham resident blasts council over disruptive cycle lanes in town

The new cycle routes will go into Rotherham Town Centre from Templeborough via Westgate, then out to Broom via Wellgate.

The £12m project, which will see new cycle lanes, crossings and junction improvements on Wellgate and Broom Road, was criticised by a resident at yesterday’s full council meeting.

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Adil Hussain asked Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council why it was ‘intentionally causing the closure of thriving local businesses on Westgate by unnecessarily extending disruptive cycling and hazardous roadworks that received no support from businesses or residents’.

“On Westgate, most evening trade businesses are owned by the BAME [black and minority ethnic] community.

“How do the council expect restaurants and food businesses that will be majorly disrupted for three weeks in their peak business hours to survive?”

Coun Robert Taylor, cabinet member for transport, jobs and the local economy said: “I understand that changes in local infrastructure can be challenging.

“When we build infrastructure schemes like this, first and foremost it’s not simply about cycle lanes.

“The scheme has been introduced to introduce safer places to cross the road, wider pavements and traffic calming to slow down vehicles.

“The scheme also includes a significant amount of road surfacing and filling potholes from the town centre, all the way to Magna.”

He added that an ‘extensive consultation process’ had taken place before the project began, and feedback was considered and several changes made.