"Space taken for cars to drive faster... cyclists and pedestrians just brushed aside": Controversial changes make roundabout "considerably more dangerous", NHS staff and cycling campaign warn — as council accused of ignoring its own safety audit

A council has faced criticism from a cycling campaign and NHS staff over changes to a roundabout next to a university campus and hospital — the cycle group accusing the local authority of ignoring its own safety audit and making the junction "considerably more dangerous and inconvenient for anyone not in a car".

Norwich Cycling Campaign Chairman Peter Silburn added that the changes "make a mockery" of the idea they were introduced to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, the campaigner arguing "space has been taken to widen the road for cars to drive faster" while "cyclists and pedestrians have been just brushed aside out of the way".

Likewise, in October, we reported that NHS staff at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital — whose entrance is off the roundabout and also marks where two of the city's Pedalways meet — had also expressed opposition to the changes, one saying it would make pedalled journeys to work "a nightmare" and force riders to choose between riding on the busy road or on the path, mixing with pedestrians.

> "What is being built is not fit for purpose": NHS workers join cyclists in slamming "last-minute changes" to roadworks plan which severs popular cycling route at busy roundabout, instead adding more lanes to encourage "more and faster" motor traffic

In 2023, Norfolk County Council announced plans worth £1 million to make changes to the roundabout, specifically to enable the road to carry more traffic. The original plans shown to Norwich Cycling Campaign removed the current cycle route around the southern side of the roundabout and replaced it with a route around the north, including a toucan crossing on the northern arm of Colney Lane.

But following subsequent discussions, the campaign was assured by the council that both the northern and the southern cycle routes would be part of the scheme as recently as September. However, owing to the poor quality of the images shown, the campaign decided to file a Freedom of Information request to obtain a copy of the approved plans.

Upon receiving the full details of the new scheme, the campaign learnt that neither the southern nor northern cycle lanes were being kept. Having crossed over at the toucan crossing, cyclists are expected to dismount for the crossing of the main hospital access road and walk their bikes all the way around to the cycle track by the southern arm.

In an in-depth blog post, Norwich Cycling Campaign wrote: "When we first saw plans for the Colney Lane roundabout it was clear this was bad news for active travel. Now that parts of the junction are nearing completion we can see just how dangerous these changes are for anyone not in a car."

The campaign highlighted "three sections of the new junction" as "particularly dangerous", including the new crossing of Colney Lane on the eastern arm of the roundabout, the narrowness of the paths and the crossing of the road up to the hospital entrance on the western arm.

"The new crossing of Colney Lane on the eastern arm of the junction is now considerably more dangerous, and considerably more inconvenient for cyclists and pedestrians," the campaign explained. "What has been provided is simply an uncontrolled crossing with dropped kerbs and some tactile paving.

"The location of the new crossing is a very dangerous place to cross the road and, unlike the previous crossing closer to the roundabout, you have to cross both lanes of traffic at once. Traffic approaching from Cringleford speeds up as it comes down a hill, and from the other direction traffic will now be exiting the roundabout faster. There is also poor visibility of vehicles exiting the roundabout.

"The bus stop is now right next to the dropped kerb for the crossing, so whenever a bus is stopped there the view of the road is totally blocked. There is the additional danger of vehicles overtaking the stationary bus.

"When Norfolk County Council amended the plans to re-instate the southern cycle route around the junction we were told the width of the path would be 'maximised wherever possible' to accommodate this. The national design guidance says that a two-way path shared by pedestrians and cyclists must be a minimum width of 3m, yet the path is only 2m wide at a crucial point.

"The path is on a bend and down a slope, and there is a blind bend caused by a hedge just before it. There is a high risk of people colliding, pedestrians stepping out into the road or cyclists falling off into oncoming traffic. The safety audit commissioned by Norfolk County Council said that a 2m path 'could lead to conflict between cycles and pedestrians at busy times' and recommended the path be widened to 3m.

"Norfolk County Council has ignored both the national design guidance and their own safety audit. There's no safety buffer between the path and the road to provide some protection from fast-moving traffic, again something that the design guidance calls for, yet this has not been done."

As a result, the campaign concludes: "There is now no safe, direct route to the hospital, on what is one of the busiest sections of the city's Pedalways cycle network."

Chairman Silburn added: "Anyone using the new crossing of Colney Lane will be playing Russian roulette with their lives. Space has been taken to widen the road for cars to drive faster. Cyclists and pedestrians have been just brushed aside out of the way.

"The changes to this junction raise multiple critical safety issues which need to be resolved immediately. We are calling on Norfolk County Council to urgently fix these issues with the junction before someone is seriously injured."

Providing a reply to the local press, a council spokesperson told the Norwich Evening News: "The improvement works have delivered a new signal crossing on Colney Lane and retained the ability to walk, wheel or cycle around the junction. They provide cycle facilities around more of the junction than existed previously and enable those who want to cycle to navigate the junction without travelling in a general traffic lane. Due to land constraints, it has not been possible to increase the width of the path, although two metres is accepted within Department for Transport guidance over a short distance."