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Jun 2020

Last Updated: 04/06/2020

County council reveals £1.3m plans to encourage walking and cycling

by Connor Creaghan

| 04 Jun, 2020

North Yorkshire County Council is looking at converting existing traffic lanes into temporary cycle lanes and widening pavements for pedestrians.

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed some of the plans it is considering to encourage more cycling and walking.

The government has allocated the council £1.3 million from its £225 million emergency active travel fund. The council can then bid for the full amount in two stages.

Initially, the council is bidding for £266,000 to spend on temporary measures such as coning off some on-street parking bays to widen footpaths.

Any projects funded in the first stage must be started within four weeks of the money being made available and completed within eight. It means that the council cannot tackle any major projects with that first pot of money.

Read more on this story:

How temporary pavement widening reignited fierce opposition to pedestrianisation

The agony of getting a single cycle route built in Harrogate

The authority will learn shortly how it will be able to bid for the remaining £1.1 million, but it is already drawing up plans of what to do with the rest of the money.

The council is considering:

Converting traffic lanes into temporary cycle lanes

Widening existing cycle lanes to help cyclists maintain distancing

Using cones and barriers to widen footpaths in key areas

Widening pedestrian refuge islands and crossings

Encouraging cycling and walking to school

Introducing pedestrian and cycle areas

Providing more cycle parking facilities

Changing junction designs to accommodate more cyclists

The Department for Transport is keen for local authorities to bring forward schemes that are already planned and that can be constructed relatively quickly. Cllr Don Mackenzie, NYCC's executive member for access, said:

“We intend to take full advantage of this funding. The amount on offer and the requirement to spend it quickly mean that we will be looking to make small but effective improvements that offer the maximum benefit.

“It will not be practical to fund major projects. To give some context, if the £1.3m were to be spent solely on new permanent segregated cycle routes it would be sufficient to pay for about three kilometres, less than two miles, of cycle path."

The county council is keen to hear suggestions for how it can spend the money. Click or tap here for more details.