A DEMONSTRATION is being held amid growing opposition to plans for a bus lane and shared cycle and footpath in Lexden Road, Colchester.

Essex County Council’s £4million proposals would see a town centre-bound bus lane from Glen Avenue to the Maldon Road roundabout.

It hopes to make a decision by the end of July.

Fearing people’s concerns will not been taken on board, Paul Avison, vice chairman of Colchester Cycling Campaign, has organised a walk from Norman Way, in Lexden, to Crouch Street, in the town centre.

Mr Avison, of Lexden Road, hopes it will help to highlight a number of design, safety and environmental problems with the scheme.

He said: “A bus lane degrades the route for pedestrians and cyclists and significantly discourages these means of travel.

“This will simply encourage more people to use their cars even for short journeys when it’s well documented air pollution is outside of the permitted levels in many areas of Colchester.

“Any scheme must have an element of making it more practical, easy, and attractive to walk or cycle for short journeys and if they don’t, they should be thrown out on these grounds alone.”

Essex County Council had secured £5million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, as part of the Colchester Town Centre Traffic and Access Strategy.

People who attended a consultation event heard cycle lanes in both directions of Lexden Road would be removed and replaced with a narrower pavement on one side of the road and a shared space for pedestrians and cyclists on the other.

Paul Byrne, of Colchester Medics For Safer Roads, said with six schools nearby, the likelihood of injury caused by a collision is inevitable.

He said: “At Colchester General Hospital, we assess risk using a matrix score, calculated by the multiplication of the severity of an adverse event with the likelihood of it happening.

“Attempts to speed up the traffic, mean the injury inflicted will be much more severe and at 30 mph, a maiming injury or death can easily occur.

“Many people may remember the tragedy of a Colchester Royal Grammar School pupil who died attempting to cross the road at night on the nearby pedestrian crossing.

“This resulted in traffic lights being implemented at the crossing. Now, the scheme intends to move the crossing further from the school.”

John Russell, headteacher at Colchester Royal Grammar School, said: “Hundreds of students of secondary and primary age walk along filling the pathway.

“A cycle lane added to an already busy footway will soon lead to a potentially serious accident.

“Also reducing the pavement on the north side will create a difficult restriction for pedestrians and end up pushing them onto the road.”

The protest is on Saturday at 11am.