BOLTON’S cyclists say they risk injury every time they travel along the borough’s streets.

Glyn Jones, from the Bolton branch of national cycling organisation the Cyclists’ Touring Club, says the main roads are particularly bad.

But he claims the town’s cycle paths are deteriorating just as quickly, as Bolton Council struggles to tackle a £76 million backlog of repair work on the transport infrastructure.

He said: “I think something needs to be done because the roads are in a very bad shape. Some of the roads are very dangerous, even the cycle paths which should only have bikes on them are getting worse.

“I have nearly fallen off my bike a few times because of potholes and as well as risking injury, there can be major damage to bikes. It is not all the roads but something really needs to be done.”

Tomorrow, the University of Bolton is hosting a cycling conference where one of the discussions will focus on what can be done to encourage more people to cycle to work.

Organiser John Parkin, reader in transport engineering and planning at the university’s School of the Built Environment and Engineering, said: “People always think that someone cycles to help the environment or for health benefits and while that may be the case, there is also a lot of pleasure in it and cyclists do have the right to expect decent road surfaces.”

The shocking state of Bolton’s roads was laid bare last week in a special council report. It revealed the borough’s infrastructure — highways, pavements, bridges, street lights and cycle paths — needs a £76 million investment to bring it up to an acceptable standard.

To get Bolton moving again, we have launched a campaign which calls on the Government to find £13.6 million of the overall total. This cash would bring the town’s main roads to an acceptable standard.

You can pledge your support by signing our online petition, at theboltonnews.co.uk/roads, or by adding your name to a petition in our Churchgate offices in Bolton.

The signed petitions, along with pictures of the town’s poor roads and letters of support for our call, will be delivered in a dossier to Whitehall later this year.

If you would like a petition for your workplace, contact 01204 537 259.