Greenock's controversial cycle route is under fire again

The pedestrian walkway along Container Way has been marked out as part of the dedicated cycle track, which has already been branded a 'monstrosity'.

Council chiefs insist that the portion of pathway near where Greenock man Alan Gordon was struck and killed by a car in 2017 'will be monitored' and is currently only a 'temporary' solution.

But the decision to mark the pavement out as a cycle track has only sparked further anger over the project, which forms part of a £585,000 'Spaces for People' initiative between Inverclyde Council, the Scottish Government and cycling/walking charity Sustrans.

Alasdair Higgins, chair of Inverclyde Liberal Democrats, said he was 'astonished' to see the cycle track taking up the whole pavement on the Tesco supermarket side of Container Way.

Mr Higgins said: "What are the elderly, young parents with prams and other pedestrians supposed to do?

"This is now becoming a total farce and an embarrassment to Inverclyde."

The council bowed to public demand and a 5,000-plus signature petition in 2019 for traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing to be installed in the area following 54-year-old Mr Gordon's tragic death.

Around £225,000 was spent on the signalised junction after an official report concluded that it would 'improve road safety and pedestrian safety'.

The area has become busier since its installation as work continues on Greenock's £20 million cruise ship terminal and visitor centre.

Lib Dem chair Mr Higgins said: "Clearly this cycle route has not been thought through properly.

"I suspect that the money from the Scottish Government and Sustrans had to be spent within a certain timeframe and this has just been rushed through.

"My worry is that the council has said some of it is on a trial basis and may not stay.

"Well, what a huge waste of taxpayers money if that is the case."

Mr Higgins added: "If only the council had gone to the various cycle clubs in the area and asked them what would work or not.

"The unused railway tunnels behind the Arts Guild site and the old tracks at the ropeworks site in Port Glasgow, to me, would have been something that could have been looked into.

"This, at the very least, would have separated the cyclists from the traffic.

"I saw several cyclists not even using the lanes between Campbell Street and Patrick Street and was told by one person, who was out with two young boys, that it was too close to the main road and therefore he was using the pavement.

"So what is the point [of the cycle route]?"

Councillor Chris McEleny, of the Alba Party, last month called for the new cycle route to be scrapped, saying it had narrowed the main road in a 'dangerous' way.

Inverclyde Council says pedestrians can still use the pavement along Container Way that has been marked out for cyclists.

A spokesman for the local authority said: "The new route has been designed to discourage cyclists from crossing Container Way but these markings are advisory.

"Pedestrians can still use this pavement or the one opposite.

"This section of the route is temporary and will be monitored before any final decision is made.

"We encourage everyone who uses the new route to please take account of all other users and continue to use cycling routes, pavements and indeed roads safely and responsibly and to respect others who are using them."

Mr Higgins said: "All of this is an accident waiting to happen.

"Let's hope it is not a deadly one."