Castleton: Home of the world’s shortest and most useless cycle lane?

Castleton: Home of the world’s shortest and most useless cycle lane?

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Residents in Castleton were looking puzzled this morning owing to the sudden appearance of some rather bizarre road markings in the area. (see photo).

A new and extremely short cycle lane appears to have appeared on the Manchester Road railway bridge close to the Rochdale Online offices. The ‘lane’ which is less than 5 metres in length sports a very large planter slap bang in the centre of it.

Perhaps this forms part of a new, post-Olympic sporting initiative such as cyclocross- plant-pot jumping? Maybe the planter is there to cushion the fall of any cyclist who is involved in an accident… such as a head-on collision with a mystery object?

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “We are determined to be one of the most cycling friendly boroughs in Greater Manchester. This small section of marked cycle lane is part of a cycle route that is being created from Heywood to Castleton and highlights to users that at this point the route moves from the road to a shared use pavement.

“Signing is to be provided indicating the switch to the footway over the bridge, which is for safety reasons as the road here is quite busy and narrow and could pose a significant challenge for inexperienced cyclists. We will be moving the planter prior to the route opening in the autumn.

“The cycle route in Castleton is part of the wider Connect 2 network which, together with pre-existing routes, provides the borough with over 40km of routes that have been created or improved for walking and cycling.

“This section of route is also part of a strategic initiative to make it safer and easier for cyclists to get to and from train stations, as part of an integrated sustainable travel network.” 

What are YOUR ideas for how this cycle lane could be used?

Have any similar bizarre and unexplained road markings appeared in your area?

Please let us know: news@rochdaleonline.co.uk