No compensation for pedestrians injured after tripping on “optical illusion” cycle lane – with 30 claims already dismissed

No pedestrian who fell and injured themselves on a cycle lane responsible for three tripping incidents a month due its confusing layout and kerb heights has received compensation from the local council – with 30 claims dismissed over the past year.

The bike lane on Keynsham High Street, in the Somerset town between Bath and Bristol, is believed to have caused more than 100 people to trip since it was first installed in 2022, a rate of more than three incidents a month, apparently due to the infrastructure’s colours and changing kerb heights creating an “optical illusion” trip hazard.

In March and April 2022 alone, 25 pedestrians were reported to have tripped or fallen while attempting to cross the cycle lane, while 59 locals were injured during its first year in operation, prompting Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to brand the lane a “failed experiment”.

Works were carried out last year to paint the bike lane’s surface red in an attempt to more clearly distinguish between the differing kerb heights of the pavement, cycle lane, and road.

> Safety works confirmed for "optical illusion" cycle lane behind more than 100 injuries, as infrastructure branded an "utter pantomime"

However, despite these changes, the injuries have continued to rack up, with one local architect, who suffered “significant trauma and soft tissue damage” along with a “badly jarred back, causing pain, numbness, and sciatica” in a fall on the bike lane, branding the infrastructure “completely idiotic” and like it was “designed by toddlers”.

“This is the worst cycle path design I have ever seen,” they said earlier this year. “No consistency in levels. Some parts flush, some parts raised with no distinct difference in visual colouration to help differentiate between the two, which is an obvious breach of accessible design criteria. It is shocking.”

Last month, in an attempt to address these persistent problems, Bath and North East Somerset Council closed the route to repaint the solid white dividing lines as broken white lines as part of their latest attempt to reduce trip incidents.

However, while the council appears keen to sort Keynsham High Street’s cycle lane issues once and for all, it has been revealed this week, through a Freedom of Information request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service and reported by Bristol Live, that the local authority is yet to provide anyone injured on the lane with compensation.

According to the FOI request, 40 people have so far sought compensation from the council for injuries sustained while tripping on the cycle lane. While ten of those claims are ongoing, 30 have already been dismissed.

> "Optical illusion" cycle lane behind three trip injuries a month to close tonight for long-awaited works

While those injured on the cycle lane don’t appear to be receiving compensation anytime soon, the council nevertheless hopes its latest safety works on the cycle lane – which were delayed by several months as the local authority waited for the right weather conditions and an available contractor, having promised to fix the infrastructure “at the earliest opportunity” – will put an end to Keynsham’s recent tripping epidemic.

“This mitigation should make the change in levels clearer to pedestrians and prevent further trips and falls,” Paul Roper from the council said last month. “We are grateful for people’s patience while the audit was undertaken and the road safety report compiled, which we are acting on.”

However, despite the latest safety changes, some remain critical of the council’s approach, with councillor Alan Hale having previously warned that the works do not represent the recommendation of the council’s audit and risk causing more confusion.

“It seems to me that the council administration have spent good money on an audit but, having received the results, they together with the officers and the design team have decided to dismiss what they have been told,” he said.