Active Travel - Phase 2
After only receiving 50% from the government's Active Travel Phase 1, it is important that Worcestershire County Council do not waste the opportunity to get all the money available in phase 2, which is worth just over £1m for the county.Details of phase 2 can be found in the invitation letter, which is on our website here.Some specifics within the letter are really interesting and show that the Department for Transport is really keen for meaningful proposals to come from councils that truly favour walking and cycling, not just some paint here and there. Some examples below:
- Councils must "have swift and meaningful plans to reallocate road space to cyclists and pedestrians".
- Schemes that do not meaningfully alter the status quo on the road will not be funded.
- All cycling schemes, permanent or temporary, will need to include segregation or point closures to through traffic: advisory cycle lanes, and those marked only with white paint, will not be funded.
They go on to provide a list of types of intervention that are in scope. These include:
- New permanent, fully segregated urban cycleway or similar
- New temporary segregated cycleway
- Installing segregation to make an existing cycle route safer
- Point closures of roads to through traffic, apart from buses, access and disabled
The deadline for the council to submit their bid is 7th August, so not far away. Bike Worcester are happy to collate any ideas and send them onto the county council, so if you have some particular improvements in mind that fir the criteria then please send them to info@bikeworcester.org.uk.