Council pays out £85k in cycle lane injury claims

The cycle lane on Linthorpe Road will be removed later this month

Injuries on a doomed cycle lane have seen a council pay out more than £85,000.

The Linthorpe Road route in Middlesbrough, which has faced backlash since it was installed in 2022 at a cost of £1.7m, will be removed later this month.

Several people have fallen or tripped over the lane's ridged markers in that time, with Middlesbrough Council left with a bill of £85,728 for 15 injury claim payouts, with six more claims still unresolved.

The Labour-run local authority said claims were handled through its insurers who assess liability and award compensation where appropriate.

Both pedestrians and cyclists have fallen foul of the black-and-white rubber cycle lane dividers, with details of accidents confirmed by a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Twenty-five claims from people who were injured in trips or falls over or on the cycle lane were made between the completion of the cycle lane in 2022 and July 2025.

The installation has garnered overwhelming negative feedback over the years, being described as "disastrous" at a full council meeting in October 2023.

Tees Valley Combined Authority is footing the bill of more than £2m to strip out the cycle lane and reinstate the road, after government funding was originally used to install the lanes.

A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said: "Around £85,000 has been paid in compensation to individuals in relation to the Linthorpe Road cycle lane.

"All claims are handled through our insurers who assess liability and award compensation where appropriate."