On the right path

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Living outside of Portsmouth I commute in everyday via bicycle down the fantastic Eastern Road cycle path.

 

As grateful as I am to see the council maintaining cycle paths, the recent resurfacing of the Eastern Road cycle route has in my opinion ruined a brilliant resource. As anybody who has ridden a bike will know, what a cyclist desires is a nice clean, smooth surface. The recent Eastern Road cycle path resurfacing is rough and course, with regular lumpy joints and a dangerously loose gravely surface. As a result the majority of cyclists now resort to riding down the pedestrian section of the path, which has retained the original tarmac. This leads to congestion and makes it harder for faster riders to come past as they do not know which side to pass. Riding along Eastern Road is now more dangerous and the new surface makes my morning commute feel similar to riding down a flight of steps. 

 

I hope that this email reaches those that arranged the resurfacing and helps ensure that future cycle path maintenance work is performed in a more cyclist friendly manner.

 

Kind regards

Ben Connor

  

 

I have never felt compelled to write a letter of complaint before. Maybe it is a sign of my age!

 

Approximately three times a week I cycle to my office in Portsmouth. Luckily much of the route is on cycle paths including the busiest section down Eastern Road into the city. On a sunny morning I can pass in excess of 100 cyclists on this 2 mile section which can become quite congested. The path is split 50/50 for pedestrians and cyclists by a big white line. Back in March the cycling half was resurfaced with a course gritty orange finish that you might be familiar with for rumble strips and marking hazardous areas on roads. In my mind totally inappropriate for a cycle path, and judging by the 100 riders I was now passing each morning who were trying to all share the pedestrian section of the path I wasn’t alone.

 

On Wednesday I turned onto Eastern Road to find that the new surface has been removed along the entire length of the path. I am waiting in eager anticipation of what they are going to replace it with, but it appears I may not have been alone in voicing my concerns. As pleased as I am to see the council responding, one has to think of the cost to tax payers of resurfacing miles of cycle path and then ripping it all up 3 months later.