Angry residents threaten to chain themselves to trees over cycle lane

QUOTE:
Residents opposing a new cycle path in Swansea are threatening to chain themselves to trees which are due to be cut down for its construction, according to a councillor.

The BBC (link is external) reports that Swansea Council is planning a new cycle route along Mayals Road, linking the seafront to Clyne Common and ultimately on to Bishopston.

The plan is for two-way cycle routes at either end and a single route either side of the carriageway along the middle section.

However, Linda Tyler-Lloyd, the local councillor for the area, said that residents were "up in arms" at the plans – chiefly because they would involve the felling of 19 trees.

"Cyclists I have spoken to are quite happy about going up Mayals Road as it is,� she said. “It is a beautiful avenue with mature trees.. People are threatening to chain themselves to the trees. I have only had one email saying they were for it."

Councillor Mark Thomas, cabinet member for environment enhancement and infrastructure management, said it was wrong that the trees were only being felled for the cycle route.

"The assumption that trees along Mayals Road are being felled to make way for a cycle route is wrong," he said.

"Not acting now and leaving this work until later, not only puts lives at risk from trees collapsing but also leaves the council without the funds needed to carry out a replanting programme."

The council plans to plant two new trees for each one that is cut down.

John Sayce, chairman of Wheelrights, said the Swansea Bay cycle campaign group was broadly supportive of the scheme.

"The current plans have several aspects that we are supportive of," he said.. "We are pleased that cyclists are being given precedence over motor traffic at several junctions, that road space has been reallocated for cyclists' use and that there are separate lanes on both sides of the road to avoid possible conflict with pedestrians.

"However, at the moment, Wheelrights members do not have an agreed position on the current plans, so are currently compiling a list of concerns that they wish the council to address."

Mayals Road resident Mark Parkin said people were also against other elements, such as the narrowing of the motor vehicle carriageway to accommodate the cycle path.

He also said residents would have to cross the cycle path to access Mayals Road from their drives and that buses at bus stops would result in queueing traffic.

"It looks like a done deal,� he said. “The first I knew about it was a snippet in the Evening Post about three months ago."

Councillor Thomas said that Mayals Road had been identified as a key cycle route in 2017 and had been the subject of a three-month consultation.

https://road.cc/content/news/angry-r...s-trees-278555