Wellfield Road, Hatfield

RESIDENTS in Hatfield are worried their street could become a “bottleneck” when a controversial new cycle path is built.

Wellfield Road, Hatfield

The plans, for Wellfield Road, Hatfield, would see parts of the carriageway narrowed to accommodate cyclists, a move that has left some who live in the road highly critical of the scheme.

Angry resident Tony Halsey told the WHT: “Their intention is to cut the width of the road by a third and make a cycle track along the it.

“But it’s gridlocked as it is now.

“It’s a bus route and customers use it to go to Asda.

“The idea is absolutely crazy.”

He added: “It’s going to be a complete bottleneck.”

Neighbour Grace Agar said: “They’ll be narrowing the road and it is busy here as well, but if they could use the pavements it would be ok.

“A lot of cars park along here and a lot of wing mirrors get lost.”

“I have no objections to them doing it but I think there are better ways of doing it.”

And another woman said: “How could they possibly do it, it’s ridiculous.”

But another resident, Sonja Park, said: “A cycle lane would be good.”

Although Mrs Park expressed fears over the volume of buses and said she hoped the path would use pavement space, rather than the road.

The route would stretch along Wellfield Road, from the Comet Way roundabout to the roundabout near to the town centre.

Part of the path will be on the existing road, part on pavements and some sections of the route will pass where trees currently are, three will need to be uprooted.

A Hertfordshire County Council spokesman said: “The council is committed to improving cycle links in Hatfield, particularly between the aerodrome site and the town centre.

“The cycle lane in Wellfield Road will be created by widening the footway and converting it to shared use for pedestrians and cyclists.

“There will be some narrowing of the road, to a minimum of 6.5m.

“This has been agreed with key stakeholders, including Hertfordshire police.”

He added: “The new cycle route will create a safe and direct route for cyclists and encourage healthy and sustainable transport.

“We will monitor the road after the scheme is implemented to see if parking restrictions will be required.”