‘Optical illusion’ kerb still catching out pedestrians despite local council spending £11,000 to ‘fix’ problem

An 'optical illusion' still causes problems for pedestrians, even though the council issues £ 11,000 to resolve it.

The Cycle Lane was added to Castle Place in Belfast as part of an environmental schedule launched by the Department of Infrastructure 2021.

Expanding the footway to the cycle strip created an 'optical illusion' that caused pedestrians to injure themselves, the council officers said.

However, since the installation, which costs £ 52,000, the curb has had the pedestrians and large barriers for more than two years.

The barriers were built after a pensioner fell from the curb and lost two front teeth and sustained face injuries.

To solve the problem last year, the Council spent more than £ 11,000 on consultants costs to draw up proposals to redevelop the cycle strip.

Now officials will spend more money in the hope of finding a solution to the problem, reports the Telegraph.

The Cycle Lane was added to Castle Place in Belfast as part of an environmental schedule launched by the Department of Infrastructure 2021

Since the installation, the curb has caused confusion among pedestrians and has had large barriers for more than two years

A spokeswoman for DFI said that the barriers were set up “in response to worries about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.”

They added that there are plans to install a permanent cycle strip at the location.

However, the problems remain and the local population has called the large orange barriers a 'thorn in the eye'.

Alderman of Belfast Gary McKeown, of the Social -Democratic and Labor party (SDLP), said: 'It is incredible that after two years and more than £ 11,000 public money is eliminated by the infrastructure department to get some ideas about what to get Doing, we are still stuck to large orange plastic barriers in the heart of our city center.

“It is an absolute mess, especially if there is wind and the barriers collapse like Dominos, creating even more risk,” he added.

The Belfast city council was approached for a comment.