A cycle lane built as part of the £6m regeneration project to rejuvenate Greenock town centre and encourage active travel is facing calls to be scrapped just over a year after it was completed.
Almost 1,000 people have signed a petition against the two-way lane on West Blackhall Street, with some local businesses claiming the route has “decimated” trade, reports the BBC.
Meanwhile, cyclists have told BBC Scotland the lane is frequently blocked by parked cars and they have faced hostility from motorists.
Inverclyde Council has acknowledged there have been “teething troubles” and said a review is underway.
Business owner Chris Jewell told BBC’s Your Voice that the cycle lane has been “catastrophic” for his children’s clothing shop Cradle Care, which has been on West Blackhall street for almost 30 years.
He started the petition, which currently has 975 signatures, in a bid to persuade the council to change tack.
He told BBC Scotland News: “The council said we want to make this the main shopping street in Greenock, the reverse has happened.
“It needs to be removed, we need to put parking back. On the same basis as it was, we’d be fine. If we don’t, then the street will die.”
The cycle lane was completed in March 2025 and received more than £2m in funding from the active travel organisation the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly known as Sustrans, along with cash from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Inverclyde Council.
Those against the cycle lane claim very few people use it.
But cycling instructor Christine Allan, who runs Invercycles said the lane can be difficult to access due to cars and vans parked there illegally.
“It’s a constant battle between drivers and cyclists along here,” she said.
“I really don’t know the answer to it. I wish people would respect it more. It’s a shared space, it should be a space for all, it should be an active travel space. It’s really hard to cycle on if there’s cars parked along it.
“Unfortunately, some of the car drivers feel it’s their right to take space away from other road users, there’s not much that you can do about them. I obviously can’t ask them legally to move their car. Some people can get aggressive.”
(Picture: Mapillary)
