The Chichester junction where drivers must give way to cyclists who they can’t see

A cyclist who snapped both ligaments in his shoulder following a collision with a car at a notorious Chichester junction says he doesn’t blame the driver, but instead lays the blame for the incident with the design of a new cycle path which is part of £210,000 project to make the city safer for bikes.

“The driver was very shaken up,” said Andrew Rose following the collision. “I don’t feel like he was being careless, I feel like he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Rose told the Chichester Observer how he had been riding westbound along North Walls last Tuesday when he collided with the side of a car that was pulling out of Chapel Street from under an archway in the city walls.

Rose was on a cycle path which had been added along North Walls in March as part of West Sussex County Council’s £210,000 project to make the city safer for bikes. While he had the right of way, he points out that cars pulling out of Chapel Street have greatly reduced visibility.

“For drivers pulling out from under the city walls it’s impossible to see left because of the wall and because of overgrowing weeds which need to be cut. Cars are supposed to stop at the give way lines, but they can’t give way to the left until they’re in the middle of the road.”

Adam Havoc wrote to the newspaper about the new road layout several weeks ago, calling it the ‘dumbest junction and possibly the most dangerous in Chichester’.

“When turning either left or right out of Chapel Street, the city wall makes it impossible to see cyclists, the only thing to do is gingerly pull out,” he said, before pointing out that cyclists are also travelling against the flow of traffic. “Turning left or right into North Walls used to be one-way streets but now cyclists are encouraged to ride against the traffic on both these very narrow roads.”

Rose had been due to take part in the RideLondon-Surrey 100, but cannot ride for eight to 12 weeks due to the injuries he sustained. He later went back to the junction to see how other drivers were negotiating it.

“We’ve only been here a short time and although probably eight out of ten drivers are stopping, looking and carefully pulling out, the rest are just having a quick glance and going. One driver didn’t even stop to look before pulling out which is terrifying. I didn’t realise just how busy this junction is.

“After my accident one witness said he (the driver) did stop and look before he pulled out and he still didn’t see me so it shows how dangerous it is here.”