The plan to have taxis share lanes in Belfast alongside buses and bikes “feels like a plan that's going to endanger cyclists”, according to a campaigner.

Meg Hoyt, chairwoman of the Belfast Cycle Campaign’s organising committee, said the speed at which transport minister John O’Dowd had decided upon this course of action left cyclists feeling like a mere afterthought.

She was speaking amid ongoing dismay at the congestion in Belfast city centre.

Frustration has been building about it for several weeks.

placeholder image — A bus lane in May Street, Belfast city centre (Department for Infrastructure)

There are three sets of roadworks in the city centre and perhaps another 17 outside it, including a giant resuracing scheme on the Sydenham Bypass.

And ever since October 12 the Boyne Bridge on Durham Street has been shut, which has been blamed for making a bad situation worse.

To work around this, the transport minister said this week that he intends to open up city centre bus lanes to taxis.

At the moment the lanes can generally be used by buses, motorcycles, cyclists, and a very limited number of taxis (classes B and D, which make up only a small proportion of the total).

The idea is to essentially open the lanes up to taxis in general “in the vicinity of the works,” Mr O’Dowd told the Assembly this week.

But Ms Hoyt said this will jeopardise the “most vulnerable” of those who currently use the lanes: cyclists.

She said “having taxis zigagging in and out of bus lanes is just going to create more barriers and obstacles and danger" for them.

"Cyclists in general don't think allowing taxis into cycle lanes is particularly safe,” she told the News Letter

"We also feel more broadly it's not a great measure to alleviate congestion in Belfast either.

"You're going to have people on buses who've chosen not to drive in their car but take a bus. And now they're going to be sitting in traffic as well, and may well just go back to the car."

She said that "Dublin allowed taxis into cycle lanes, and it had no noticable impact on congestion".

Added to which, the fact that the minister plans only to allow taxis into some bus lanes, not all, "will cause confusion".

Ms Hoyt added: "Another potential issue for cyclists is how quickly this measure seems to have been adopted by the minster.

"We've been waiting for years for action on the Belfast cycle network – I'm talking 10 years here.

"For my own area, the Limestone-Cavehill Road cycle lane was promised about three years ago. It then needed to be consulted upon, was paused, has gone back to consultation.

"But when it comes to making to decisions to allow taxis into bus lanes, that seems to have happened overnight.

"I think we're just left feeling a bit disheartened."

So does she think cycling seems like an afterthought in this case?

"Yes, it does, it really does,” she said.

"That shouldn't be an afterthought. Active travel should be at the heart of your transportation plan for a 21st century city."