DURBAN North resident and avid cyclist, Aroon Patel, has bemoaned the lack of maintenance of the cycling lane on Waterkant Road, which is in need of desperate maintenance. The cycle lane, which runs for almost two kilometres, is used by hundreds of cyclists and club members. One of the major concerns is that the bushes that run alongside the track (going south) have now grown over the lane, forcing cyclists to move on to the road and endangering themselves and motorists.

Patel, who is part of Cycle Specialists Cycling Club, said there have been a number of near-misses on the road.

“We use this stretch to go through to Virginia and uMhlanga and then branch out on the M4. The group of more than 30 cyclists normally cycles early in the morning, but at times the overgrown bushes are forcing us out into the road.Another factor is because there are so many streetlights are out, cyclists often see the bushes late and there have been a number of near-misses.

“The maintenance of the cycling lane is problematic. The massive sinkhole near the Japanese Gardens, which had been repaired, has now begun to form again, which is another danger on the route. One of the cyclists I know refuses to ride the route because of the poor maintenance. He was put out by R20 000 after the frame of his bike suffered a fracture after he hit the sinkhole. I don’t want this to become incident-based before something is done,” Patel said.

Patel, who is the chairperson of the eThekwini Cycle Safe Forum committee, said he hoped to foster a behavioural change between cyclists and motorists.