A retired highway engineer has questioned the council's decision to install a bench on a bend in the middle of a cycle lane.

Ed Fisher, 77, from Woolston, said he was shocked to see the strangely-placed bench as he drove through the junction of Manor Road South and Radstock Road.

Southampton City Council said its decision complies with guidance from the Department for Transport.

But Mr Fisher says he is baffled by the chosen location.

He said: “I can’t understand why the council would choose to put a bench here – to admire the wonderful view of the side of a wall?

“I suspect the council will say that it is important to give elderly people the chance to stop and rest, but why here?

“We have never seen anybody sitting on it. Surely there could have been a better place for it. Even just over the road seems to have better places for a bench.

“You have got all the traffic behind you and the cycle path right through the middle of the bench – hardly the best place for a bench.”

Ed worked as a highway engineer for Hampshire County Council for 47 years but retired seven years ago.

He praised the council's job with the new road layout but questions the location of the bench.

He added: “This sort of thing does interest me, and I would like to ask the council this: Why here?”

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “Places to stop and rest are important for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility or visual impairments.

“The Department for Transport’s Inclusive Mobility guidance advises that, where practicable, seating should be provided on main pedestrian routes at intervals of no more than 50 metres.

“The junction of Manor Road South and Radstock Road serves a number of pedestrian routes to access different local facilities.

“Following extensive consultation with local residents, the pavement has been widened significantly to slow traffic, making the junction and crossing safer, which has also provided space for the new planter and bench which will allow people to rest, if required.”