In the story about the proposed cycle route for Thorpe Hall Avenue, Southchurch Boulevard and Barnstable Road, in Southend (Oct 1), it was stated residents along the roads affected have been notified by the council in the consultation process.

This is simply untrue.

As a resident of Southchurch Boulevard I have received no such notification and had to rely on the Echo for information of this project. Having rung the council to request information on this project, I eventually received a “pack” which told of a “drop in session” at Southchurch Library for October 2 (a date long gone) with a cut-off date for comments of October 8.

While I have no particular aversion to cycle lanes in these roads, I do object to the positioning of these cycle lanes and the arrogant way in which the council present these as a done deal with the developers of the Futures College.

Southchurch Boulevard in particular forms part of the main A13 road between London and Shoebury and carries considerable traffic into Southend town centre.

Any cyclist who would willingly put themselves into the centre of this chaos is surely asking for trouble.

For the council to suggest a cycle route between traffic and parked cars is a folly. It will also cause a road which flows reasonably well to become yet another clogged East/West artery.

There is an alternative ready made area down the centre of the boulevards, where trams used to run many years ago, which would make a much safer route for any cyclists, or even to allow shared pavements, as in Eastern Avenue by Cecil Jones School, would be an alternative option thus preserving the present roads for motorised transport.

Jill Speller
Southchurch Boulevard
Southend