A TOP radio presenter has challenged the council on its decision to scrap a pop-up travel scheme after receiving pressure from locals who mounted a petition for its removal.
BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Jeremy Vine asked Buckinghamshire Council to demonstrate how its decision to remove a so-called “quietway” between Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter had made “vulnerable road users safer”.
He was reacting to a response the authority published on Twitter, explaining to someone why the scheme had been dismantled before the end of a three-month trial period.
The presenter, himself a keen cyclist, was also questioning a similar scheme in High Street Kensington, due to be axed next week.
“I guess this will be my last time on the High Street Kensington cycle lane,” wrote Vine. “They have only been in place for two months, and they are reportedly being ripped out next week after residents’ complaints.”
In response, Twitter user @grumpypostie wrote: “At least you’re getting notice in London.
@BucksCouncil removed our local cycle lane before completion date.”
The council replied: “This was due to a clear majority of local residents objecting to the scheme and the difficulties it was presenting locally.”
READ MORE: Council blockades creating ‘dangerous’ roads are manually moved by ‘frustrated drivers’
Vine hit back: “You can’t know if something is working until you’ve installed it and seen it used over time, probably two years’ minimum.
“Can you tell me how your actions make vulnerable road users safer?”
When the council failed to respond, Vine added: “No answer from the council.”
Twitter user @grumpypostie said they had submitted a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the council, hoping to answer Vine’s question.
“Your interest has spurred me to action,” they wrote. “I do have half a drafted letter to a councillor that I’m working on now.
“But the way they framed this invited anti responses and wrong-footed pro responses. I’m mad about that.”
The quietway was met with opposition from residents who were not consulted beforehand and even saw drivers manually moving the blockades when adjustments promised by the council were not implemented.
A more-than 1,400-signature petition organised by three campaigners forced Buckinghamshire Council to reconsider the scheme.
Main picture courtesy of PA
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