Six ‘Cycle Ambition Cities’ will benefit from £6.5m of Government funding to help make cycling ‘the natural choice for transport’.
Announced today (12 June), the funding forms part of the DfT’s Cycle Safety Review – launched in September 2017 to ‘ensure that our roads are as safe as possible for all who use them’.
The funding was pledged in February, when the Cycle Ambition Cities – all of which have received previous Government support – were invited to bid for funding to trial new schemes aimed at improving road safety and creating more bike-friendly areas.
The six Cycle Ambition Cities with successful bids are: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester and Norwich – which has received funding for two projects.
The funding will be spent on a range of improvements to ‘encourage more people to cycle as part of their everyday journeys’ – from a new 6km cycle route in West Yorkshire to improving crossings for cyclists and pedestrians in Bristol and Cambridge.
Jesse Norman, cycling minister, said: “I want us to become a nation of cyclists, and to make cycling a natural choice for people of all ages and backgrounds.
“While Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, we want to encourage still 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 to make their roads safer for everyone.”
As part of the Cycle Safety Review, the DfT issued a call for evidence on cycling and walking – providing an opportunity for people to share their views and opinions on everything from improved infrastructure to education for all road users. The call for evidence closed on 1 June.
Some more millions going into the coffers to benefit the cyclists. I do not see this government giving monies away like £6.5 m to help train young and inexperienced motorcycle riders to be safer on our roads.
How many riders could benefit and be safer on our roads if £6.5 million were offered for training and if it were to cost just £100 per student for say a full days instruction. Some 65.000 that what.
M.Worthington
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