RESIDENTS have reacted to the news that a controversial cycle lane plan along one of Bolton's key routes will not be implemented in full.

The £275,000 scheme would have seen a cycle lane on Chorley New Road repainted and widened with new ‘orca wands’ installed in order to protect cyclists from traffic.

However the scheme proved controversial with residents unhappy about congestion and as a result was halted in March with the wands removed, while as of Tuesday September 21, the council has confirmed that they will not be reinstated.

Cllr Andy Morgan, who represents the Heaton and Lostock ward said: “It’s been a massive issue for the last 12 months.

“People really took a dislike to the orca wands not just because of the physical look of them look of them, which is quite terrible, in what’s meant to be a conservation area but also because of the congestion they caused.”

He pointed to a survey which showed that 68 per cent of respondents were in one way or another opposed to the Chorley New Road Emergency Active Travel Scheme and said that the idea had been imposed on the borough by Greater Manchester.

Cllr Morgan said: “The practicality is that they reduced the carriageway size and so rather than easing congestion and helping the environment we just ended up with stationary traffic caught in congestion.”

He said that the decision to partially scrap the scheme was a victory for “common sense.”

However, the permanent removal of the wand orcas would mean the scheme would no longer comply with the minimum standards of the Greater Manchester Interim Walking and Cycling Design Guide and it would also fall short on complying with Active Travel Fund criteria on national standards.

As such, the decision made not to fully implement the scheme could leave Bolton Council open to a legal challenge similar to other boroughs in England where such schemes have not been implemented as originally promoted.

In a report, Bolton assistant highways director John Kelly said: “Generally, the scheme has been poorly received with 68 per cent dissatisfied with the scheme as implemented."

He added: "This is a consequence of both a focused targeting of residents within the consultation area and a dissatisfaction with how the scheme has been left incomplete and compromised through its implementation.”