North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet has accepted £319,000 of Department for Transport funds for cycling improvements on a key route in the borough.
The route, identified through the council’s Cycling and Walking Improvement Plan, stretches from Clee Road at Isaac’s Hill roundabout, along Weelsby Road, up to the Fryston Corner junction and along Laceby Road to the Bradley Crossroads roundabout.
Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment and transport, said: “We’re pleased to have secured the funding from the Department for Transport for these proposed improvements. Initially, we’ve identified this route as a key cycling corridor for many cyclists and in the coming weeks, we will be engaging with local residents and cyclists to understand more about the route from those who regularly use it.
“Guidance from the funder has recently been updated and this scheme will only be progressed subject to our engagement process. There must be a clear and evidenced need by local people for these improvements to take place.
“If this scheme is progressed, we hope to see greater sustainable access to nearby colleges and education centres, as well as enhancing the sustainable access into the resort of Cleethorpes. Improving road safety for cyclists on this stretch with certain measures aims to protect them along the route.
“This project supports the Government’s renewed focus on active travel and the publication of the ‘Gear Change’ national plan for cycling and walking. We aim to gather feedback from local people and will be looking to share a draft detailed design in the coming weeks.”
The council and its regeneration partner, ENGIE, will be seeking the views of residents and cyclists using the route to support the ongoing scheme design, prior to initial engagement taking place on the draft design.
In providing feedback, people will be helping transport officers to develop sustainable transport initiatives along the route, which will help directly tackle issues raised by local people. If the engagement outlines no requirement for the improvements, the funding will be handed back to the Department for Transport.
The survey is being hosted by engagement specialists, Commonplace, who use a map-based engagement platform for local people to pin and comment on key areas they want to provide feedback on. All feedback gained will support the development of a heat map along the corridor to identify potential areas for future improvements.
People can fill in the survey from next week at northeastlincsa46map.commonplace.is If visiting the survey before next week, there is the option to be informed by email when the consultation is open for the public. The deadline for feedback is Friday 12 February.
Article from NELC.
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