The UK government is investing £104 million into active travel across England.
Announced today on World Car Free Day by Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander, the funding will go towards developing the National Cycle Network which links more than 12,000 miles of signed walking, wheeling and cycling routes across the UK. The sum will be distributed to the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly known as Sustrans, as the charity responsible for developing the network.
The investment follows the government’s £4.5 billion active travel plan published this summer which aims for more than half of short journeys in towns and cities to be completed by active travel by 2035.
“The National Cycle Network is an incredible resource. However, it faces challenges,” Carole Patrick, Director of the National Cycle Network at the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, told Zag Daily.
“Many routes need to be improved to make them more inclusive and the Network is vulnerable to climate impacts. This funding will allow us to make it safer and more accessible – moving on-road sections to new traffic-free paths, removing barriers, resurfacing and widening paths and making the Network safer for women and girls.”
Hundreds of projects across England are promised to benefit. The investment will be used for new traffic-free routes, safer crossings and improved access for wheelchair users. It will also go towards repairing and maintaining bridges, tunnels and former railway infrastructure that form part of the National Cycle Network as well as improving lighting, signage and road markings to make routes safer for women and girls.
Projects under development include upgrades to the English portion of the Avenue Verte, the National Cycle Network route linking London and Paris and new walking, wheeling and cycling routes relating to the HS2 corridor.
According to Active Travel England, every £1 invested into the National Cycle Network returns an estimated £4.10 in wider economic and social benefits which come from reduced congestion, improved public health and lower carbon emissions.
“Not only will helping more people use active travel to get to the bus stop, school or to the shops reduce traffic on our roads, but it helps our target of getting 5.3 million more people physically active as part of our plan to create a healthier country,” said Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander.
By 2030, the government aims to have established the “foundations” for a national active travel network. This would see local active travel plans consolidated into a signal digital platform and a cycling and walking network that’s accessible through standard route mapping websites and apps, in the same way that the road network is today.
