Work to remove Horsham and Worthing cycle lanes starts today

The temporary government-funded cycleways are being taken down in Chichester, Horsham and Worthing after surveys returned largely negative feedback on the scheme to install them.

West Sussex County Council warned drivers there are likely to be delays as a result of the works to remove the lanes.

A spokesman for the authority said: "The impact of the schemes has been monitored during their operation.

One of the temporary Covid cycle lanes in West Sussex

"Feedback showed the majority of responses were opposed to the cycleways, citing increased congestion as a key issue.

"Automatic traffic counters also indicated relatively low usage by cyclists in comparison with other traffic."

The bike lanes were introduced as part of an emergency response to the first national coronavirus lockdown, with the aim of increasing active travel options.

West Sussex County Council launched a consultation on the future of the lanes and, last month, encouraged people to use them if they wanted them to stay.

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But, following negative feedback on the cycleways during the consultation, the authority announced early this month that it would be removing them in Crawley, East Grinstead, Horsham, Shoreham and Worthing.

It had previously been revealed that the Chichester lanes were set to be axed.

Today, work begins to remove the bike lanes in three West Sussex towns; Chichester, Horsham and Worthing.

A West Sussex County Council spokesman said: "For the safety of both road users and the workforce, traffic management is essential, so please be aware that delays may be likely on these cycleway routes.

The implementation of a Covid cycle lane in Sussex

"Our contractor will try to minimise disruption as much as possible and we apologise for any inconvenience.

"Where practical, the removal teams will take the opportunity to carry out any minor, unrelated work that needs doing on the highway, such as the removal of vegetation and repair of small cracks in the carriageway surface.

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"This could prevent the need for future traffic management and additional inconvenience."

The cycle lanes were introduced using £781,000 which was awarded to West Sussex County Council from the government's Emergency Active Travel Fund.

They were implemented as emergency measures using Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders.