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C'est la vie! Get on your bike to Paris
Cyclists could soon be saying "Bonjour" to fellow bikers across the Channel.
Council chiefs have signed an agreement to provide a cycle path through our corner of the county to link London with Paris.
It is being proposed that the Avenue Verte - Green Avenue - could be formed by an existing network of paths and cycle routes.
These include Gatwick to Forest Row via Crawley, Worth Way to East Grinstead and Forest Way to the county boundary with East Sussex.
Then it would continue on to Newhaven, where cyclists would have to catch a ferry to Dieppe in order to reach France.
Just over 13 miles of the path would pass through the area with a common layout, surfacing and signage which people on both sides of the Channel will understand.
The next step in the plan is to form a Franco-British partner-ship.
Tex Pemberton, West Sussex cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The opportunities for green tourism will be enormous because this will be a route that walkers as well as cyclists will be able to use."
The council says getting the scheme off the ground will largely depend of securing external funding - possibly from the Lottery or European Union grants.
Andy Seltzer, chairman of the East Grinstead Cycling Club, said: "I can only see it as a good thing if it gets a steady flow of people on their bikes.
"Many people ride from Land's End to John O'Groats - so maybe this will be the next thing to do.
"The route could be used for charity fundraising and it will hopefully increase the amount of people who go riding for a challenge."
County councillor Derek Whittington, a cyclist himself, said: "The French local authority representatives who were at the signing ceremony are also very enthusiastic about this project.
"The aim is to make the route as traffic-free as possible, given the obvious constraints of the major capital cities that are involved."
East Sussex and Surrey county councils,along with Transport for London, are also involved with the scheme.
Council chiefs have signed an agreement to provide a cycle path through our corner of the county to link London with Paris.
It is being proposed that the Avenue Verte - Green Avenue - could be formed by an existing network of paths and cycle routes.
These include Gatwick to Forest Row via Crawley, Worth Way to East Grinstead and Forest Way to the county boundary with East Sussex.
Then it would continue on to Newhaven, where cyclists would have to catch a ferry to Dieppe in order to reach France.
Just over 13 miles of the path would pass through the area with a common layout, surfacing and signage which people on both sides of the Channel will understand.
The next step in the plan is to form a Franco-British partner-ship.
Tex Pemberton, West Sussex cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The opportunities for green tourism will be enormous because this will be a route that walkers as well as cyclists will be able to use."
The council says getting the scheme off the ground will largely depend of securing external funding - possibly from the Lottery or European Union grants.
Andy Seltzer, chairman of the East Grinstead Cycling Club, said: "I can only see it as a good thing if it gets a steady flow of people on their bikes.
"Many people ride from Land's End to John O'Groats - so maybe this will be the next thing to do.
"The route could be used for charity fundraising and it will hopefully increase the amount of people who go riding for a challenge."
County councillor Derek Whittington, a cyclist himself, said: "The French local authority representatives who were at the signing ceremony are also very enthusiastic about this project.
"The aim is to make the route as traffic-free as possible, given the obvious constraints of the major capital cities that are involved."
East Sussex and Surrey county councils,along with Transport for London, are also involved with the scheme.
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