No, it’s not the narrowest cycle path in Britain!

A little bit of paint in Grimsby has received a lot of publicity this week! The local paper, the Grimsby Evening Telegraph made what was basically just a whinge into a story, which then made it onto the Daily Mail’s website.

In my opinion, it’s not a story. Yes, cycling infrastructure could be a lot better. Yes, the cycle paths we currently have are not as good as those in Copenhagen or much of the Netherlands. However, this little shared cycle path in Great Coates is an improvement on what was there previously.

The shared pedestrian / cycle path in Great Coates, Grimsby.

The view along Great Coates Rd back towards Grimsby.

Now, I don’t believe shared cycle paths are the way forward, but what has been reported is not a fair reflection of this little cycle path. Locally, the council often identify the edge of a shared pedestrian/cyclist pathway with a white painted line, as in this photo of Weelsby Rd near Ladysmith Rd junction.

The cycle path in Great Coates is just a shared path. The line doesn’t represent the cycle lane on one side, the pedestrian area on the other side. The line is just an edge marker on a shared path. There’s no story here. The council have improved the path by resurfacing it. No problem. It’s better than before!

On the other side of the road is the Healing pedalway, another shared pathway linking Grimsby and Healing. It’s not perfect but it is off-road and that’s better than sharing the road with HGV’s & cars.

The Healing Pedalway on the other side of the road.

Considering the minscule budget that is allocated to cycling infrastructure, I think the work already done in North East Lincs is pretty good. What we need is a switch from a car-centric focus to one that puts people first, with a far greater proportion of the transport budget going into high quality cycling infrastructure.