Under-fire council admits "discriminatory" cycle route barriers were installed without equality impact assessment

A council criticised for installing "discriminatory" barriers on a cycling and walking route in Bolton, apparently to prevent anti-social behaviour, has admitted no equality impact assessment was carried out pre-installation but believes it has still acted in accordance with design guidance.

The barriers appeared on Rothwell Street on a cycling and walking route, Bolton Council arguing their installation was a necessary reaction to criminality and people using the route to evade the police. However, cyclist and Bolton Active Travel Forum Technical Review Group member Dr Grahame Cooper, as well as many others, have called the council out for the inadvertent impact such barriers can have on people, particularly those with disabilities who may use an adapted cycle.

"The real issue is that the barriers discriminate against people who use many types of cycle, including adapted cycles for users with disabilities, and the council's failure to follow due process," he told road.cc.

"The Public Sector Equality Duty, placed on public sector bodies by the Equality Act 2010, means that the council is required to assess the impact of the changes on protected groups such as disabled, elderly and pregnant people and record the reasons why the perceived need for the barrier outweighs that duty.

"They have admitted that they have not done that and there is no Equality Impact Assessment. This is particularly important if they are departing from national guidance. Before the barrier was installed, the 3.5-metre-wide path was perfectly adequate for shared cycling and walking use. Now that the barriers are in, there is conflict between the needs of people walking and cycling due to the bottleneck."

The route has also become strewn with litter and broken glass since the barriers were installed, Dr Cooper suggesting it has created a "focal point for anti-social behaviour and littering".

However, of main concern is the inability for many cycle users to still be able to access the route. Explaining the decision to the Bolton News, Bolton Council said the barriers were introduced as a "temporary" measure to tackle "a prolonged period of anti-social behaviour and criminality".

"People were using the route at the end of Rothwell Street to evade police officers," a council spokesperson said.

"Working with Greater Manchester Police, the council installed the temporary barriers at the end of Rothwell Street to assist the police in tackling the anti-social behaviour which was blighting the local community.

"Installing the barriers is not an action taken lightly but there is still access for pedestrians and most cycles and it is expected that the barriers will only be a temporary measure.

"The design guidance for cycle infrastructure states that barriers should only be used if there is 'a persistent and significant problem of antisocial moped or motorcycle access that cannot be controlled through periodic policing' which is the case here."

That final paragraph references the official Department for Transport guidance for local authorities regarding the design of "high-quality, safe cycle infrastructure", but does not mention the fact that in the very next paragraph, the LTN1/20 guidance also states:

Access controls that require the cyclist to dismount or cannot accommodate the cycle design vehicle are not inclusive and should not be used

The council reportedly also confirmed that it had not carried out an equality impact assessment, a process meant to help authorities consider the potential effects of policies, and to make sure they do not discriminate or disadvantage people.

Dr Cooper also tells us he has seen the response to a Freedom of Information request, made to Greater Manchester Police, which asked the force to "provide a copy of advice or communication from 2023" with Bolton Council or relevant councillors relating to the barriers' installation.

"Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to locate the requested information and I can confirm the information requested is not held by GMP," the reply reportedly came.

Dame Sarah Storey, Paralympian-turned-active travel commissioner for Greater Manchester, said she would be working "with the police and local authority to find a long-term solution". Campaign group Walk Ride Greater Manchester warned there are more than 100 similar barriers across Bolton.

Similar cycle lane-blocking barriers have been seen in locations across the country, campaigners and local riders calling on local authorities to remove them to make routes more accessible for all.

In January 2022, York City Council removed the "shameful" barriers that blocked access to a cycle route, while Stockport Council in the same year decided to backtrack on barriers installed to, as in Bolton, combat anti-social behaviour.

> Campaigners welcome council's U-turn on installing "discriminatory" barriers on cycling and walking routes

Back in September a cyclist in Newcastle sent a legal letter to the council to challenge the lawfulness of barriers on a National Cycle Route which prevent him from accessing the path on his recumbent.

Most bizarrely was the case in Milton Keynes last year which saw ultracycling legend Steve Abraham criticise the local council's move to install bollards on a cycleway as it meant the route was no longer accessible for those using cargo bikes.

The bizarre bit comes from the fact the cargo bikes in question, used by Abraham in his work as a courier, were themselves supplied by the council.