CYCLE event organisers have defended spray painting route markings on a dale road, saying they were forced to do it because their signboards had been altered to send riders down a dangerous road.
People living near Woodland say the road markings on the brow of a hill along the B6282 are a safety risk and could cause an accident.
Orange paint was used to mark several large arrows and the word “Wiggle” on the road surface during the Wiggle County Durham Dynamo Sportive, which passed through Teesdale on Saturday, May 19.
Amanda Cooper, who lives at nearby Hineden Edge, said: “I don’t mind cycling – it has brought money into the area – but they wouldn’t do it in a town so why do they spray paint roads in the countryside.
“Why just there at the brow of the hill?”
She added that she had seen cars drivers braking to read the markings and this could lead to an accident.
Mrs Cooper said: “They said it was temporary paint but they put it down on Friday and we’ve had two downpours since then.”
She also questioned why the rest of the route was signposted and spray paint was used only at that spot.
However, race organiser Ryan Drummond said they were forced to use spray paint because people had tampered with the signs several times in the run up to the event.
He said: “When it gets to three times over we have to take the necessary precautions. It was a last ditch attempt. It wasn’t just that the signs were removed, the signs had been altered to change the route.
“We had to as a matter of course because we didn’t want to send riders down that road.”
He described the road to Hineden Edge as dangerous for cyclists because of its condition.
Mr Drummond insisted the spray paint would disappear within six weeks of being laid down. About 500 cyclists took part in the event, with about 300 following the longer route that past Hineden Edge. Durham County Council’s highway department was not able to comment as we went to press.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
