Hopefully, you will have heard of The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety’s campaign to make the planned Ardrossan Connections cycle path safer for all people, particularly people with disabilities, children, the elderly and dog walkers.

We have highlighted four areas of the proposed plans that need to be addressed; floating bus stops, continuous footways, uncontrolled crossings and shared paths.

I had a meeting on March 6, 2023 with Leader of the Council, Cllr Marie Burns and North Ayrshire Council’s Senior Manager for Regeneration, Louise Kirk, to discuss the proposed plans and gain assurances that the new cycle route would be safe for everyone.

Happily, I was given these assurances so you can imagine my surprise and dismay when I read last week’s Herald headline announcing that North Ayrshire Council chiefs have applied for planning permission for a “new 'shared use' cycle path and walkway in Ardrossan”.

Apparently, the route will link the town centre to the ferry terminal at Ardrossan Harbour and it is claimed that the new development “will help regenerate and improve the local area, attract more visitors and improve the lives of residents”.

The new shared path will unfortunately not be segregated meaning that cyclists will be cycling in and around pedestrians, many of whom will have difficulty avoiding getting hit by them – so not exactly “improving the lives of ALL residents”.

As I have previously mentioned in several articles and letters to North Ayrshire Council, shared paths are a danger to all pedestrians and, on the grounds of safety, should not even be considered.

According to Cycling Today magazine, “the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured by cyclists in U.K. doubled between 2006 and 2016” and with cycling being heavily promoted in more recent years, it is safe to assume that this figure has increased rather than decreased.

Our blind volunteers and service users are particularly at risk, however deaf people are also at risk as they cannot hear the cyclist’s bell; the elderly can often not move quickly enough to avoid a cyclist; children can easily run into a bike; and dog walkers have to keep their dogs on a tight leash to avoid tangling up the bike’s wheels.

For these reasons, we have had many national organisations voice their concerns over the Ardrossan Connections cycle route plan so for the Council to steamroller ahead and announce this new shared path route without consulting the public first is a travesty.

Organisations who have already written to the Council voicing their concerns about shared paths include; representing people with low or no vision, Sight Scotland & Sight Scotland Veterans, The Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB), The Scottish Sensory Hub and Health & Social Care Alliance Scotland, Guide Dogs Scotland, and Visibility Scotland. Representing people with sensory impairment and disabilities, Deafblind Scotland and Sense Scotland.

Representing elderly people, Age Scotland.

Representing wheelchair users, Spinal Injuries Scotland.

As well as our local MSP Kenneth Gibson and Colette Walker, Leader of Independence for Scotland Party.

But it is not just all of these charities and organisations that are worried about unsegregated cycle paths, here are some local resident comments following the publication of the Herald’s article;

“Shared cycle and pedestrian routes do not work. Either cyclists should dismount when using this route, or separate paths should be installed for cyclists and pedestrians. Cyclists and pedestrians are not compatible. This is the problem with the Sustrans plans (Ardrossan Connections) for Princes Street. We should also have separate routes on the promenade.”

“Many (not all) cyclists are pests as it is. They don’t seem to realise that older people might not hear them coming - bells seem to be a thing of the past.”

“I am utterly sick of this. Developers and local councils are taking absolutely no attention to what people are saying, people with life experience of everyday living with a disability or health conditions.”

“I had a walk along the North Shore today. 8 bikes passed me - only two were on the ‘new’ widened cycle path. Huge waste of money creating something that wasn’t needed. Just like these new proposals.”

And finally, “So, if I get knocked down by a cyclist, does that mean I can sue the council for their stupidity?” A very good point.

I sincerely hope that the Council take another look at their planned 'shared use' cycle path and walkway and decide to include a segregated cycle lane in their plans.

For the safety of all pedestrians, not just the majority that can move quickly out of the way of a passing cyclist, please take some time to write to the Leader of the Council and object to these plans, before it is too late and someone gets hurt.

In the meantime, stay safe.