Locals have blown up an “optical illusion” bike path after nearly 60 people were injured over the course of a year.
The white curbs made cyclists and pedestrians think they were painted lines, only to fall headfirst into nasty accidents.
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A cycle path in Bristol has been called an ‘optical illusion’Credit: BPM
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The curb (L) is the same color as the straight white line (R), resulting in 59 people being injured in just one yearCredit: BPM
The chaos led to a staggering 59 injuries in just one year, 21 of which claimed personal injury compensation from Bristol council.
Applications for all seven have been denied, but the others are open and under investigation.
Due to the unusually high number of injured cyclists, the twisting lane of Keynsham High Street has been dubbed an “optical illusion”.
The dangerous cycle path used to be the same color as the road, until a councilor asked that it be painted.
That councilor was Alan Hale, who said the track, installed by Bath and North East Somerset Council, had been a problem “from day one”.
He obtained the startling injury data through an access to information request.
The Keynsham South councilor told SomersetLive: “There is no other local authority in the country that has created a development that has managed to seriously injure at least 59 people and has done nothing to address the situation.
“We were chosen to make our community safe, not to cause significant harm.
“To make it safe, we need management and officials to take positive action, not sit idly by.”
The strip was painted red in August last year, after 46 people were injured.
Mr Hale continued: “At my suggestion they changed the track color on the track, but this did not stop the injuries and there has been no further action since, apart from policing.”
But another councilor defended the bike path, saying the changes were made in an attempt to reduce injuries.
Mark Roper, Cabinet Member for Council for Economic Development, Regeneration and Growth, said: “When some early problems with the double curb on the road surface were identified, a number of mitigation measures were put in place which had the effect of significantly reducing the number of reported incidents.
“However, we have now commissioned Stage 4 Road Safety to suggest additional improvements and mitigations to prevent further issues. This will be announced at the start of the next administration.
“All reported falls are carefully investigated, including on CCTV, to establish where and why they occurred. We have been working with the city council and local councilors to ensure that all incidents are recorded.
“The council takes this issue very seriously and is working hard to make further improvements.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education