Further funding for cycling and walking announced

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that councils will receive a further £175 million to create safe space for cycling and walking.

The investment follows the findings from surveys and independent polls which show strong public support for high-quality schemes.

The funding, formed from the £2 billion announced for cycling and walking in May, will fund measures including: ‘School Streets’, where streets around schools are closed to motorists at school times; low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), where residential side streets are closed to through traffic to stop rat-running; segregated cycle lanes; and pedestrian improvements/

The Transport Secretary has also set tough new conditions on councils receiving funding, requiring them to ensure schemes are properly consulted on. This will help avoid the problems seen in a minority of the schemes developed in the first round of funding. If these conditions are not met by a council, future funding allocations will be reduced and claw-backs could also be imposed.

As part of the plan to ensure councils develop schemes that work for their communities, Shapps has set out that they must: publish plans to show how they will consult their communities, including residents, businesses and emergency services, among others; show evidence of appropriate consultation prior to schemes being implemented; and submit monitoring reports on the implementation of schemes six-12 months after their opening, highlighting how schemes have been modified based on local feedback to ensure they work for communities.

Recent research indicated that 65 per cent of people across England support reallocating road space to cycling and walking in their local area. Nearly eight out of 10 people support measures to reduce road traffic in their neighbourhood.

Shapps said: “It has been great to see so many people build cycling and walking into their daily travel habits. To support them, we know it’s vital to have the right infrastructure in place so everyone – cyclists, pedestrians and motorists – can use our roads. Whether you’re walking, cycling, driving or using public transport, people must have the space they need to get around safely.”