Pop-up cycleway opens in Crawley

West Sussex County Council is urging would-be cyclists to consider leaving the car at home and try it for themselves.

Parents could consider using part of the route for their journeys to school, the council said.

The trial cycleways in Shoreham, East Grinstead and Horsham are set to be finished within days – subject to severe weather, a spokesman added.

The seven pop-up cycleways for West Sussex – funded by the Government – will create safe space for active travel and encourage people to cycle rather than use the car, the council said. They are an emergency response to increase travel options as part of the Government-led recovery plan from COVID-19.

The introduction of social distancing has reduced public transport capacity and people from different households are discouraged from car sharing.

The spokesman said: “As an emergency response, the Government required the seven trial schemes to be planned and installed within three months. Given the timeframe, we consulted key partners including district and borough councils, emergency services and bus operators. Normally schemes of this nature would take years to develop and be subject to various stages of public consultation that might last two or more months and involve exhibitions, etc. This was not possible given the timescale limitations required.

“The cycleway routes are the result of collaborative work with the district and borough councils. Once fully installed and open, we will be encouraging would-be cyclists to experience the cycleways for themselves. This will be the chance for people to show how much they want the cycleway to stay.”

The schemes will be closely monitored to see how well used they are and any positive or negative impacts on congestion, safety and air quality. Adjustments will be considered and, if any of them do not work, they may be removed.

Updates on the schemes, and feedback surveys, will be available online at www.westsussex.gov.uk/popupcyclelanes