12 June
The Government has recently announced an allocation of £2.5m of new funding for Nottingham to introduce temporary measures to encourage walking and cycling as Covid 19 restrictions are eased.
The council has always been committed to the promotion of walking and cycling, with great facilities already in place and even more in the pipeline, but we have also been working on plans to make it even easier for people to get around the city by foot or bike in response to the current crisis.
The Council must bid for the funding in two stages. The first bid for £510,000 was submitted to the Department for Transport on Friday 5 June.
The temporary and permanent measures put forward included:
- Pop up cycle lanes – on sections of Mansfield Rd, Hucknall Rd, Carlton Rd/Porchester Rd, St Ann’s Wells Rd, Middleton Boulevard and Thane Rd
- Temporary cycle provision on Canal St during the forthcoming Broadmarsh highway works
- Improved cycle and pedestrian provision of Trent Bridge, in association with Nottinghamshire County Council
- Cycle safety scheme on Derby Rd
- Restricting through traffic movements on Victoria Embankment in response to the significant increase in pedestrian and cyclist activity there
- Neighbourhood traffic changes to improve the local environment and support cycling and walking in the Arboretum area
- Measures to make pedestrian movement easier and safer in the City Centre and Hyson Green district centre
- To start consultation on a City Centre 20mph zone
- Introducing a trial of car-free School Streets – to allow space for walking and cycling to school and safe social distancing for parents and children outside school entrances
- More support for the Nottingham Bike Aid scheme – the initiative to supply key workers with free/loaned bikes, including a pop up Dr Bike services at key destinations and events
- To produce an online map to allow people the opportunity to record concerns and suggestions for travel improvements.
- Improved cycle parking facilities at Clifton and Toton Park & Ride sites and popup cycle racks to locate in response to public demand.
- Improved way finding for new cyclists, including temporary signs, creating route videos and reprinting the Council’s popular cycle route map.
Walking and cycling along with public transport are at the heart of our approaches to economic development, social and health ambitions for our city. Our response to COVID will be underpinned by those principles. To keep our city moving, bus lanes will be kept running freely, space made available for people to safely socially distance, and road space changes carried out to support walking and cycling.
The full bid is available on the Council’s Insight location
Further details will be announced once the Department for Transport has agreed its programme with the Council and its share of the additional Government funding.
