news

Seven Cycle Ambition Cities successful in bids for funding

Posted: 14 June 2018 | | No comments yet

Air quality, congestion and residents’ health across the UK could all improve if more people chose to cycle instead of driving…

The UK’s Cycle Ambition Cities are continuing to work towards making cycling the natural transport choice after successfully bidding for a share of £6.5 million of government funding.

The investments will focus on encouraging more people to cycle safely.

In February 2018, the Department for Transport (DfT) gave Cycle Ambition Cities the chance to bid for the share, to trial new schemes aimed at improving road safety and create more bike-friendly areas.

Since February’s announcement, seven winning Cycle Ambition City bids have been identified and the government is contributing over £7 million to these cities during 2018 as part of the DfT’s cycle safety review.

Successful bids will be spent on a range of improvements to encourage more people to cycle in their daily journeys – from a new six kilometre cycle route in West Yorkshire to improving crossings for cyclists and pedestrians in Bristol and Cambridge.

Cycling Minister, Jesse Norman, said: “I want us to become a nation of cyclists and make cycling a natural choice for people of all ages and backgrounds. While Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, we still need to encourage more people to take up cycling. We are determined to make cycling safer and easier across the country. This funding, as part of our overall cycling and walking strategy, will help local councils make their roads safer for everyone.”

The DfT launched the first ever statutory cycling and walking investment strategy in April 2017, to encourage more people to cycle and walk. This sets out how the government will deliver its ambition for cycling and outlines how the £1.2 billion of funding available until 2021 will be spent.

The seven successful bids are from Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich and West Yorks Combined Authority.

Cycle Ambition Cities

Source: www.gov.uk