Staffordshire to Brownhills cycle path: Anger over millions spent on project
A cycle path from Staffordshire to Brownhills was given a £3.5 million makeover despite the route being used by just 44 people in one day, it can be revealed.
The route from the A5 Churchbridge to Brownhills cost £3,560,000 to overhaul, but a survey undertaken by Highways England prior to the work beginning showed that just 44 cyclists were clocked using it from 7am until 7pm during a summer day.
This means that the new route has cost some £81,000 per cyclist, and this figure could even be higher as some of the cyclists may have been clocked more than once during the June 2014 survey.
A freedom of information request submitted to Highways England revealed that a total of £600,000 was spent on the work from Washbrook Lane to Churchbridge, £1.2 million for the work from the A5 Rising Sun to Washbrook Lane and £1.76m for the work on the A452 Brownhills cycle path. This leads to a total of £3.56m.
Brownhills
Also, as part of the FOI, Highways England revealed it had carried out a survey on June 5, 2014 to see how many were using the cycle path.
Between the hours of 7am and 7pm 44 were clocked, including 18 on the A5 West, three on Wilkin Road, 11 on the A5 East and 17 on the A452.
Highways England said the path was renovated due to safety concerns, but Great Wyrley resident Fred Lees, who submitted the FOI request, said: "It is reasonable to assume that a percentage of those 44 were making a return journey, e.g. going to work and then going home from work.
"Highways England have spent at least £3,560,000 of taxpayers' money to accommodate possibly 22 cyclists. That works out at approximately £161,000 per bike.
Cannock
"As a regular user of the A5 between Cannock and Brownhills, I can honestly say that to see a cyclist or for that matter a pedestrian is a unique occasion."
Highways England group leader Martin Bolt said: "Safety is the top priority for Highways England and we work closely with vulnerable road user groups, including cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists, to ensure that we accommodate their needs.
"A scheme was put in place on the A452 at Brownhills after a number of collisions involving cyclists.
"With support from Cannock Chase Council, Staffordshire County Council, the Stoke and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Sustrans, we secured further funding to provide a further three miles of cycle route to the A5 at Churchbridge, providing a high quality shared use path from Cannock to Brownhills.
"This provision has been welcomed locally."
