Lorry Petition to be Handed to Authorities

8.23.00pm GMT Tue 11th Mar 2008

A 500 name petition will be handed to authorities on Thursday objecting to proposals to allow some lorries to use the Newmarket Road bus/cycle lane. The proposals, passed in January by the Norwich Joint Highways Committee, will allow some HGVs to use the bus/cycle lane at rush hour for a six month trial period from later this month.

A petition objecting to these proposals was launched last month by Eaton Councillor Judith Lubbock and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman Simon Wright. Judith Lubbock is a member of the Joint Highways Committee, but was the only member to vote against the scheme.

Councillor Lubbock said: "There is huge opposition to this proposal, as demonstrated by the response to our petition. Our local authorities should be doing all they can to encourage people out of their cars and to use sustainable means of transport, but this proposal does the complete opposite. Cyclists will feel in greater danger, and this is completely the wrong message to be sending out. People have contacted us to say how crazy these plans are, and that they already feel at risk on Newmarket Road because of the excessive speed of some vehicles."

Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Norwich South, said:

"We're really grateful for the strength of support people have shown this campaign. The huge response sends a very clear message to the Highways Committee, who have completely failed to engage with the public over these proposals. To push ahead with this without having first spoken to cyclists and residents along Newmarket Road does nothing to inspire confidence in the authorities. The councillors who serve on that committee will at least know now how much opposition they face, and perhaps they can be encouraged to change their decision as a result."

The petition will be handed in at the next meeting of the Norwich Joint Highways Committee, which is taking place on Thursday, 10am at City Hall.

The petition has the support of the Norwich Cycling Campaign, who have released evidence supporting objections to the scheme on safety grounds: Lorries and cyclists will be sharing a 3m wide bus lane, but official guidance says that a road should be 4.6m wide to allow HGVs to pass cyclists safely.

The scheme is an initiative of Norfolk County Council and Foulger Transport at Snettisham. The aim is to encourage firms who would normally deliver into Norwich directly to make use of a new 'freight consolidation centre' which reduces overall lorry numbers coming into Norwich. The lorries coming into the city through this scheme will use the bus/cycle lane on Newmarket Road and then follow a route through Castle Meadow and Red Lion Street during the morning and evening peak periods.