Cyclists and active travel campaigners have welcomed news that three temporary cycle lanes in the city will be made permanent thanks to an £11 million investment.
While some road users have questioned Liverpool Council's proposals, many of those who regularly cycle around the city appear to be cautiously optimistic about the investment being made.
A report to Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet is recommending an allocation of £10.95m from the Active Travel England be accepted and invested in enhancing the three routes into fully segregated active travel corridors.
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The designs for each scheme, which will not require the loss of any traffic lanes, were subject to a public consultation last Autumn with feedback largely supportive for the interventions.
The Cabinet report also shows that Active Travel England funding, which will be drawn down from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, has also been set aside for an upgrade to an existing cycle lane in Toxteth.
If approved, the funding will be allocated to:
· Vauxhall Road route to Liverpool city centre - £1m to deliver upgrades to traffic signal-controlled junctions between Tithebarn Street and Boundary Street. Before work begins, a community consultation will be held to gain feedback on the details of the programme.
· West Derby Road route to Liverpool city centre - £4.9m secured to support delivery of a permanent active travel corridor between Low Hill and Tuebrook roundabout.
· Sefton Park route to Liverpool city centre - £3m to upgrade the Aigburth Drive Gate and Croxteth Gate junctions and provide segregated cycle facilities between Sefton Park and Princes Avenue.
· Princes Avenue junction improvements - £2m to upgrade the Princes Avenue roundabout to a cycle-friendly junction with links to the previously completed Princes Avenue scheme and the proposed Croxteth Road upgrade forming part of the Sefton Park corridor.
Improvements on all four elements will include:
- Upgrades to footways to improve surfacing and provide pedestrian priority across side roads
- New crossing facilities to remove barriers to movement
- Consistent treatment for cycle lanes and their interaction with bus stops
- Carriageway resurfacing, including drainage and street lighting improvements
Commenting on Twitter, cyclist and active travel campaigner James Maloney said: "Good news - looks like we are keeping the three of the main pop up cycle lanes. Let's hope the final designs don't look too dissimilar to those proposed.
He added: "My main gripe with this set of plans is an extra £2m being spent fixing the roundabout on Princes Ave, which initially had £4m spent on it but the officials ignored the original pleas to make the roundabout cycling friendly - despite it being a designated cycling corridor."
Another cycling campaigner, who goes by Paul on Twitter, said: "This is positive news and I welcome it."
There was plenty of debate on the ECHO website about the schemes, with some claiming the temporary lanes are not well used and questioning the investment being made.
Responding, Robbie Peters simply said: "Build it and they will come," before adding: "Great news, I would have liked them to join the West Derby route to the cycle path, which would have brought a lot of people into the cycle route area."
Some other commenters suggested cyclists should 'pay road tax' to fund these projects. Others pointed out that so-called 'road tax' on cars is related to the emissions the vehicle produces and that cyclists actually do contribute towards schemes like this as they pay Council Tax.
Speaking about the plans, Simon O’Brien, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for Liverpool City Region, said: “It is fantastic to see this new funding being unlocked, to really help us push forward with our plans to help create a network of walking and cycling routes that befits the city.
“We’ve got some great active travel infrastructure, but we need to make sure it’s properly linked up so people feel confident that they can travel easily and safely by bike or on foot – that’s what this new funding will help to do.
“The kind of schemes that will be delivered by this money give us an amazing opportunity to help change the way we think about travelling around our local area.”
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