Painting new lines on an “optical illusion” high street that is causing people to fall over may not stop the problem, a local councillor has warned.

About three people have trip and hurt themselves every month in the cycle lane on Keynsham High Street, which was installed in 2022. Even after the cycle lane was painted red, the confusing kerbs and painted lines on the street have continued to create an “optical illusion” which causes people to trip.

Now Bath and North East Somerset Council is turning the solid painted line into a broken line in the hope this will make it safer. But councillor Alan Hale (Keynsham South, Conservatives) criticised the council for not installing tactile paving, as recommended in a stage four road safety audit, accusing the council of still having its “head in the sand”.

Auditors warned that people had tripped not just from crossing the road, but from walking along the pavement and stepping off the drop too. They recommended that stick-on corduroy tactile paving be applied along the edge of the kerb and double yellows painted on the street. The designers of the scheme accepted the idea of the double yellows but warned that tactile paving could cause more confusion.

But Mr Hale, who is the council’s member advocate for safer roads, said: “The scheme designers in dismissing the suggestion, have in my opinion responded somewhat arrogantly and patronisingly saying that: ‘There is a question however, as to whether the users of Keynsham High Street would understand what the tactile paving means and whether they would deter people stepping off the kerb line in this manner.’”

The designers warned that tactile paving was used to aid blind and partially sighted people who were trained to understand different surfaces and that was not the issue here. 

Mr Hale added: “They also question whether it meets the schemes heritage objectives — hardly a consideration if over 100 people have been casualties, many serious, of this ill-devised scheme.”

Designers instead said that the solid white line, which has been a source of some of the confusion, should be replaced with a broken white line, as also other external parties had suggested. The designers’ response in the safety audit said: “Whilst the design team and safety auditors have not identified this during site inspections, it is a low cost intervention and may clarify the situation for some users and has no significant obvious negative impacts.

“On this basis the design team recommend trialling the lining interventions prior to any other physical measures listed above.”

Mr Hale said: “It seems to me that the council administration have spent good money on an audit but, having received the results, they together with the officers and the design team have decided to dismiss what they have been told.

“And so the likely outcome of that ‘head in the sand’ attitude is that we can expect more serious injuries and that is totally unfair to and dismissive of the welfare of those people that I and my fellow district councillors in Keynsham represent.”

Mr Hale also said: “I am very disappointed that officers felt it appropriate to issue a press release widely to the  media without giving the six Keynsham district councillors who have been working cross party on it an opportunity to read and study it.”

Announcing the work, the council’s cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development Paul Roper (Kingsmead, Liberal Democrats) said: “Following the stage four audit report we will carry out lining work on Keynsham High Street.

“This mitigation should make the change in levels clearer to pedestrians and prevent further trips and falls. We are grateful for people’s patience while the audit was undertaken and the road safety report compiled, which we are acting on.”

No date has yet been set for the work to happen, but the council said it would happen “at the earliest opportunity,” weather and contactor availability allowing. The work will take place at night to avoid disruption to businesses and traffic.

LDRS, John Wimperis