Crofton Road Orpington: Utility pole in cycle lane

The pole appears in the middle of a cycle lane on Crofton Road in Orpington.

The lane was built after being approved by Bromley Council in 2018. However, Michael O’Donnell, 55, said the path is rarely used and was speechless when he saw the pole.

Mr O’Donnell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “My friend lives up in the top end. It’s madness, they spent God knows how much money building it.”

He added: “He comes down here every day to the station and he always says it’s a complete nightmare. They’ve made a complete balls-up of it.”

Bromley Council documents from 2018 said the cost to deliver the cycle lane on Crofton Road was £673,000, with the money being made available by Transport for London (TfL).

Several councillors raised concerns on the scheme before it was built, saying there was no proof of a demand for the path and it was not a good use of taxpayers’ money.

Despite this, the council agreed to pursue the project, claiming it would encourage cycling and the funds from TfL would be lost if they were not used.

Gabi Paplauskaite, 20, said she previously used the cycle lane for her job, but has not seen anyone on it since the pole appeared.

Gabi Paplauskaite, 20, said she has not seen anyone using the cycle lane since the pole appeared

Ms Paplauskaite told the LDRS: “It’s probably not the safest idea… To be honest, I think it was a waste because they did it two years ago or something and they’ve redone it and it looks exactly the same.”

Tim Webb, 66, said he noticed the problem three weeks ago and that the pole wasn’t originally in the cycle lane. Crofton Road was recently widened by Bromley Council at a cost of £77,000 to resolve traffic issues in the area, according to council documents from November 2022.

Tim Webb

Mr Webb said he felt the work was rushed and the council should have spent more time planning the solution.

He told the LDRS: “It’s one of those topics, if you ask anyone in Orpington, that will come up time and time again as a great white elephant. And the latest incident just makes it a mockery… I’ve been at night and that [hazard tape] is not reflective. So the concern people have is that someone goes charging into it.”

He added: “I’ve got nothing against cycle lanes. I think they’re a good idea, but I think the money from TfL maybe could have been used more wisely.”

Openreach is reportedly responsible for the utility pole on the path. A spokesperson for the company told the LDRS: “Our pole was in place before the cycle lane was created; we’re working with the council to make sure it’s safely relocated.”

A TfL spokesperson told the LDRS: “We work with all London boroughs to enable and encourage people to walk and cycle and are happy to work with them to improve existing schemes where appropriate.”

Bromley Council said in a comment on FixMyStreet on October 24 that the issue was being investigated.

The council was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.