Liverpool City Council has started the process of transforming two pop-up cycle lanes in the city into permanent active travel routes. The project involves the upgrade of the Crown Street pop-up lane, as well as the construction of a new cycle lane along Catharine Street, which will link up with the award-winning segregated lanes on Princes Avenue. The £2m ($2.6m) scheme will feature a fully segregated cycle lane on both sides of the carriageway on Catharine Street, and is a key element of the Council’s Active Travel programme. Works are being carried out by A.E. Yates and include new pedestrian crossing and direction changes at several junctions. The initiative is supported by the Active Travel Fund 2 from Active Travel Englandand the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
The six-month programme will involve construction during the weekdays only, between 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. The work will also enhance a second pop-up cycle lane that runs through the city’s Baltic District and out to Otterspool Promenade. Signal upgrades aimed at making both Canning Street and Upper Parliament Street junctions more bicycle-friendly will also take place, along with a ban on right-turn manoeuvres at the junction of Catharine Street and Upper Parliament Street. To monitor the effectiveness of these new changes, an experimental traffic order will be introduced, which will be subject to public consultation once the plan is complete.
Councillor Dan Barrington, the Cabinet member for Transport at Liverpool City Council, stated that Liverpool has a bright future as a cycling city, and to achieve that goal, strong infrastructure that encourages people to cycle is needed. This investment will fill the gaps temporarily created during Covid to provide a seamless journey. There is still more work to do, and investments in more cycle lanes will help build on the city’s existing infrastructure. Having more bike riders on the roads will have a significant impact on people’s health and air quality in the long-term. Walking and Cycling Commissioner for Liverpool City Region, Simon O’Brien, welcomed the new funding and said the goal was to help create a network of walking and cycling routes to help people travel easily and safely by bike or by foot. These kind of schemes will also change people’s perception of the way they travel, he added
Read the full article on Liverpool Express here: Read More