A further 24 miles of permanent walking and cycling routes will be delivered across Greater Manchester, thanks to nearly £16 million from the Government’s Active Travel fund.
The funding, announced by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) on 15 December, will see 25 schemes delivered across all 10 local councils.
The aim is to provide safe travel options for the third of Greater Manchester residents who do not have access to a car.
Among the beneficiaries is a £4m scheme to improve cycling and walking links between Manchester city centre’s three major train stations – Deansgate, Piccadilly and Victoria.
TfGM says the new funding will build on the initial £3.1 million awarded to Greater Manchester in July 2020 – which is already delivering 25 miles of pop up cycling and walking routes.
It adds it is committed to delivering 55 miles of ‘permanent, high quality’ cycling and walking routes by December 2021.
Chris Boardman, Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner, said: “The first round of government funding back in July gave us the chance to trial cycling and walking routes, a try-before-you-buy experience.
“This latest funding will not only allow us to continue to do that, but to deliver permanent measures that will enable people to make the change long term, intrinsically linked to our plans to deliver the Bee Network – the UK’s largest cycling and walking network.
“We will be consulting and engaging extensively with residents to ensure we get the locations right and let them tell us where routes are needed the most.
“By giving more people the choice to walk or ride to shops and school for those shorter local journeys, we can change travel habits for good, improve our health, clean up the air and, ultimately, make us happier.
“The award also shows the confidence the government has in the people of Greater Manchester to lead the way in creating an example for the rest of the UK, something everyone in GM should be very proud of.”
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