In a significant shift for Britain's road infrastructure, traffic lanes across the country are set to become narrower. This move, designed to enhance safety for cyclists, has ignited a fierce debate and accusations of a 'war on motorists'. The new official guidance, which abandons the long-standing standard lane width, was quietly published last week.
The New Road Width Regulations
The guidance, drafted by the government agency Active Travel England (ATE), states that the traditional British road lane width of 12 feet is no longer suitable due to the safety risks it poses to cyclists. For almost 150 years, this has been the standard measurement.
Under the new plans, lanes on local roads should now either be reduced to a maximum of 10 feet 8 inches or expanded to a minimum of 12 feet 10 inches. Given the space limitations in most urban areas, critics anticipate that narrowing the lanes will be the far more common outcome.
The logic behind narrower lanes, according to the guidance, is twofold: it makes it clearer to drivers that 'there is not enough space to safely overtake cyclists', while simultaneously indicating to cyclists that they should 'ride more centrally' in the lane.
Funding, Backlash, and Economic Concerns
This new guidance from ATE, which is led by former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman, is expected to be applied to billions of pounds worth of future road-building schemes. The Mail on Sunday has learned that local authorities which choose to ignore these recommendations could face reductions in their transport funding.
The move has been met with strong opposition from motoring campaigners. They predict it will dramatically worsen traffic congestion on already clogged roads and provoke further conflict between drivers and cyclists.
Brian Gregory, policy director at the Alliance of British Drivers, did not mince words: 'If you slow everybody down to the speed of cycles on narrow roads that is a huge economic cost to the country in wasted time.' He added, 'The whole idea is just to make driving unpleasant... It's all about penalising motorists. It's completely stupid.'
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, echoed these sentiments, stating that 'narrowing our increasingly congested roads for the benefit of a small economic minority of road users makes no commercial or social sense.' He urged authorities to focus on ensuring cyclists use roads more sensibly.
A Call for Pragmatism on UK Roads
Even voices supportive of cycling have expressed reservations. Edmund King, the AA president and a cyclist himself, highlighted the practical challenges. 'It is impossible and impractical to change the widths of all our roads, which have evolved since Roman times,' he said. He emphasised that UK roads will always require a degree of 'give and take' between users that cannot be solved by regulation alone.
This new ATE guidance follows a 2022 change to the Highway Code that instructed drivers to leave a gap of at least 5 feet when overtaking cyclists. The agency argues that on a standard 12ft-wide lane, motorists 'may try to overtake cyclists when there is not enough space', thereby increasing collision risks.
While the guidance is not legally binding, it is considered best practice, and councils are under pressure to adopt it. The Department for Transport has denied claims that ATE is waging a war on motorists, calling them 'false' and a misrepresentation of the guidance. A spokesman reiterated the government's support for drivers, pointing to recent investments of £500 million for local road maintenance and £1 billion for bridge and tunnel repairs.
