New Bedworth 'green corridor' branded 'white elephant' as cyclists won't be able to use it

[dutchman]

The new Toucan crossing is for both pedestrians and cyclists



A new 'green link' in Bedworth has been branded a 'white elephant' as cyclists won't be able to use it. Warwickshire County Council is installing a toucan crossing on the B4113, Sergeant Simon Valentine Way near High Street.

It forms part of a 'green corridor' which has been on the cards for some time and was mooted to provide easier access to the Miner's Welfare Park on foot and also on wheels. This is to coincide with the creation of the new £30m physical activity hub to replace Bedworth's old leisure centre.

But the toucan crossing was branded a 'white elephant' by councillor Michele Kondakor at a cabinet meeting at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. "The new pedestrian toucan crossing is crazy," she said.

She went on: "A toucan crossing, by definition, is for pedestrians and cyclists but there is no way of actually cycling to there. You are not allowed to cycle through All Saints Square and through the centre of Bedworth, you have got to go all the way round.

"So you are not going to be at that crossing point. It's not a particularly hard place to cross because cars have either slowed up to come up the hill or they are already slowed down because of the roundabout.

"I have never actually had a problem crossing there. Cyclists cannot cross there, it seems like a white elephant."

She added that while the funding is ring-fenced for the wider physical activity hub project, there are more worthy safety measures it could be spent on.

"There actually needs to be crossings put in places where it is actually dangerous to cross, where people have been killed up by the Griff roundabout. I know this is different funding but it seems to be crazy spending the money on this," Cllr Kondakor said.

"The money that is being spent on this crossing would be better off put into the leisure centre itself."