Almost 80 cycling danger spots all over England will share £40m to improve road safety. The Department for Transport announced the 78 projects in towns and cities around the country, excluding London. Goals will include reallocating and reprioritising road space, simplifying layouts and building cycling bypasses.
The funds are composed of £20m, which had already been announced in two separate statements last year, and a further £20m of match funding from local authorities. By far the biggest awarded cash is the £8.3m Wigan West Cycling Corridor project in north-west England.
Road safety minister Stephen Hammond, MP, said: “Keeping people safe on our roads is of paramount importance to me. This money will enable local authorities to put in place well targeted measures to protect cyclists across the country.”
The funding is part of £107m the Department for Transport have spent on cycling infrastructure in the past year, which is roughly the same amount as Transport for London will be spending annually in the UK capital over the next decade.
British Cycling welcomed the government’s announcement but said it was still short of measures needed to bring about a “step change” in cycling habits.
Martin Gibbs, British Cycling director of policy, said: “This announcement is good news, but to affect a real step change in cycling habits across the country we need a commitment from national government to put cycling at the heart of all transport policy and to make a sustained commitment to invest in it."
The schemes were chosen by a panel of experts led by cycling and pedestrian charity Sustrans.