Middlesbrough's Linthorpe Road cycle lane update
July has been given as the key date for the Linthorpe Road cycle lane removal, by one of the area’s mayors.
Tees Valley Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen said during his BBC Radio Tees “hot seat” session, on Thursday May 15, that the removal of the cycle lane is definitely happening at some point in July. Meanwhile, Chris Cooke, Labour’s Mayor of Middlesbrough said the expectation was for work to start in the summer. He did not confirm the July date given by his fellow mayor.
The Linthorpe Road cycle lane was constructed in 2022 and divided opinion, with its unpopularity at a point where Mayor Cooke made it a pledge to get it removed as part of his 2023 campaign to become mayor of Middlesbrough.
It is unclear how long the process of removal will take, but comments from the two mayors appear to contradict one another, with the Tees Valley mayor saying that he would like to see the cycle lane removed prior to the beginning of the summer holidays in mid-July. Meanwhile, the Middlesbrough mayor has said that the work will most likely start in the summer and take less than eight months, but he hasn’t been able to give a more in depth timeline.
Phoning into BBC Radio Tees on Thursday morning, caller Julie said: “I just want to know what’s happening with the cycle lane on Linthorpe Road please.” Mayor Houchen chuckled as he said: “I knew this was going to come up at some point.” The removal of the cycle lane has been a point of contention over the past year, with both authorities involved. Its removal was green-lit by Middlesbrough Council’s Executive in February this year.
Mayor Houchen said: “There has been some kind of procedural, technical process issues with Middlesbrough Council, because Middlesbrough Council, in effect, have to put certain regulations in place and are responsible for Linthorpe Road, so we’ve got to work with Middlesbrough Council to make this happen. I’m pleased to say that Middlesbrough Council more recently have been much more amenable and to be fair to him, the Labour leader Chris Cooke has been helpful in trying to get this through.”
Mayor Houchen recognised that he had made the election promise to get the cycle lane removed as part of his election campaign in spring 2024 and described the time it has taken as “equally frustrating for me”. He said that he is being told by the local council that all the design work is completed, along with the safety audit, and now the council are “procuring the contractor” and “they are telling me at the moment that that work will be carried out starting the first week of the summer holidays.
“Now, I have just yesterday, spoken to the leader of Middlesbrough Council, again Chris Cooke, who agrees with me that that feels like that’s still too far away, so I’ve asked him to go back to Middlesbrough and see whether he can bring that forward. He might be able to bring that forward by a few weeks.”
The Tees Valley mayor added: “I’d rather it not happen during the six weeks holidays, it should be done before that, because we might get more people coming into the town, which would be good, particularly if the cycle lane is out, so we’re looking at basically, some point in July.” He emphasised that it is definitely happening, and it would be no later than July.
Mayor Houchen’s comments were put to Mayor Cooke. In response, the Middlesbrough mayor said: “The council is going through the correct processes to make sure that taxpayers get the best value for money. We expect the work will start this summer. Discussions are ongoing with a construction partner to finalise the details.
“The installation of the cycle lane started in February 2022 and was completed in September of that year. It will be quicker to remove but we’ll update TVCA and the public as soon as details are confirmed.”