Row over plans to curb city cycling scheme

Part of a planned cycle path will not now go ahead amid accusations council bosses have favoured keeping parking spaces for cars.

Liverpool City Council was looking at upgrading a five-mile (8km) stretch of road to include a new lane for cyclists in the Childwall area.

It said, on the basis of feedback from local people, it had "adjusted plans for the scheme" in part to protect trees around the Childwall Triangle area.

Cycling safety campaigners said they were "deeply disappointed and concerned".

The proposed route would connect the city centre with Childwall, as well as large residential areas and key leisure, employment and education sites along the corridor, such as Wavertree Sports Park, the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University.

A consultation in the spring generated nearly 500 responses, with many sharing concerns around the proposed loss of parking, green spaces, and the potential for increased congestion in some areas, the council said.

Among cycle lanes taken out of the scheme are one on Woolton Road between Taggart Avenue and Childwall Park Avenue, and a section on Grant Avenue.

There will also be changes to city centre cycle lanes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Campaign group Better Streets for Liverpool wrote an open letter of objection on behalf of a number of organisations, including the Bobby Colleran Trust and the Merseyside Cycling Campaign.

Chair Rebecca Sharkey said: "Protected, continuous cycle routes change behaviour and deliver safer streets.

"Partial or disconnected provision leaves people exposed at precisely the points where collision risk is highest."

The changes undermined public trust in the council's commitment to safer cycling, she said.

The council said it had adjusted its plans in response to feedback.

The changes included a "pledge to protect trees around the Childwall Triangle and the introduction of more pedestrian crossing points", a spokesperson said.

"We will continue to engage and gather feedback from local residents and other interested parties as design work on the scheme develops."

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