Shropshire Star

Newport Nocturne organiser’s warning on pothole risk to cyclists

Cyclists say there will be more accidents, injuries and events cancelled as Shropshire Council makes cuts to its road budget.

Published
Thousands of people watched the Newport Nocturne on Saturday

And they claim the number of potholes across the county has already led to crashes and near-misses.

One of Shropshire’s best known cyclists today said those on two wheels are being forced off some routes entirely.

Nick Jeggo is the organiser of Saturday’s Newport Nocturne road race, which brought thousands to the town.

He said while the popularity of cycling is soaring, it is also becoming more dangerous because of the state of Shropshire’s roads.

Shropshire Council has revealed proposals that will see changes in the time it takes to repair potholes.

Under the new plans potholes on the council’s strategic network that are greater than two inches deep would take up to a week to fix. The current official response time is 24 hours. Holes deeper than an inch will take 28 days instead of five working days.

Also affected are urban link and local access roads, with potholes larger than four inches deep taking up to seven days to repair rather than the current 24-hour deadline.

The proposals, part of a public consultation, come just weeks after it was revealed the highways budget for Shropshire will be cut by £10 million over the next two years.

Mr Jeggo said while smaller potholes did not pose much of a problem for cars and lorries, there were dangerous for cyclists.

He said: “Cyclists should be able to ride where they choose, on A and B roads and country lanes.

"As the winter arrives these problems will only get worse. Even in the rain a cyclist can ride through what looks like a puddle only for them to find out is is a water-filled pothole.

“We have a lot of cycling events in the county and organisers have to do risk assessments including ones on the day.

"It could get to the stage when events will be cancelled hours before the start because of problems with potholes.”