‘Near death’ experience prompts councillor to call for action on cycle route between Leamington and Kenilworth

A ‘near death’ experience and a series of other close encounters with vehicles have prompted one Kenilworth councillor to call for action from the Government, county council and Warwickshire’s police chief.

Cllr Andrew Milton (Lib Dem, Kenilworth St John’s) said he was frustrated at the lack of progress over the approved K2L (Kenilworth to Leamington) cycle route and admitted he was regularly scared by the antics of drivers as he cycled to work.

Speaking at the full council meeting of Warwick District Council on Wednesday (Wednesday) he put forward a notice of motion - amended by Cllr Jonathan Nicholls (Lab, Clarendon) - following reports that the long-awaited route had been delayed.

Cllr Milton said: “Many residents and councillors campaigned vigorously over 30 years plus to make the Kenilworth to Leamington cycle route a reality and there was therefore much satisfaction when finally in 2020 the budget to make this come to fruition was agreed by the county council.

“But since then nothing - no visible progress and no spades in the ground. And according to the [county] council leader this week, we probably have another four to five years to wait despite a cabinet report that has construction finishing next year.

“I have survived 18 months of commuting from Kenilworth to Leamington on my bike. In that time I have had close passes that have been far too many to count, I’ve been genuinely scared on four or five occasions and I’ve had one that I can only describe as a near death experience.”

Cllr Milton also referred to the public’s lack of awareness of the recent changes to the Highway Code aimed at offering greater protection to walkers and cyclists.

He said: “There is much to commend the changes but they have been so poorly communicated that we seem to have found ourselves in a rather bizarre culture war.

“Ultimately, and I do speak from experience, a lack of effective communication means that the changes aren’t taking place and the benefits aren’t being felt.”

With the motion given the full support of fellow councillors, letters will now be written calling for action.

One will be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport asking that a large scale communications campaign be put in place around the Highway Code changes with another going to Warwickshire’s chief constable asking that Operation Close Pass be implemented where officers with cameras are deployed on bikes and warnings given to drivers passing too close.

A letter will also be written to Warwickshire County Council’s chief executive calling for an update on the K2L route and a clear commitment to a completion date.