Watch for cyclists on Yarmouth pavement

A WALK into town passing a popular bus stop has become a tricky affair these days, as these pictures show, after highways engineers created a cycleway taking up most of a Great Yarmouth pavement.

Passengers waiting for buses at the Pasteur Road stop outside clothes store Matalan are having to run a gauntlet of cyclists after the path was divided up for shared pedestrian and cyclist use.

But the white line marking the start of the cycle zone was painted only a foot away from the bus shelter leaving passengers very little room to stand.

County council spokesman John Birchall insisted the path was safe and that accidents where cyclists collided with pedestrians happened “very infrequently” along similar paths elsewhere in the county.

He said the path had been carved up for cycle use because it was wide enough to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians and to safeguard cyclists from having to use the busy road close to Haven Bridge.

He added the lines were there for guidance to ensure cyclists went round the front of the bus shelter next to the road and did not necessarily have to be adhered to.

He said: “The arrangement is simply to help the safe use of the shared path as it passes a bus stop. There is always a risk of an accident on a shared use path if a pedestrian walks out in front of a cyclist, but in fact this happens very infrequently.”

However, one daily walker told The Mercury: “I have had to give way to cyclists so many times, and go onto the road to allow them to pass, sometimes they are two abreast in the mornings and evenings when starting and finishing work. Twice I have been holding carrier bags full of shopping and a cyclist has barged past from from behind and knocked my shopping.

“I have also seen cyclists go very close to toddlers holding on to pushchairs while walking alongside their mums.

“In my mind this is an accident waiting to happen area, and I can't see any risk assessment manager giving it approval.”