July is being described as a "massive month" for Liverpool's active travel plans.
The city and its council faces regular criticism for a lack of safe travel options for those looking to get around without using a car. The local authority has been accused of being too slow in the development of cycle routes and infrastructure.
But next month a number of schemes geared towards promoting active travel in the city will either come to fruition or reach major milestones.
This includes a year-long scheme to improve 30 access points along the Liverpool Loop Line, which runs for 16km through the city from Halewood to Aintree.
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July will also see the opening of a new cycle training facility at Everton Park. The project is being funded as part of the British Cycling 'Places to Ride' programme and will provide an artificial road network for children to learn how to ride and navigate different types of road junctions.
A report will also come before the council's cabinet that will ask for the council to accept almost £11m to fund three of the pop-up active travel schemes that were created during the pandemic. The schemes are at West Derby Road, Vauxhall Road and Sefton Park.
Liverpool Council has also just launched a new consultation on another major new active travel route in the city. People are being asked to provide feedback on the proposed route, which would run for approximately 8km from Childwall through Wavertree and into the city centre.
This new route, which would provide access for more than 100,000 people, would eventually connect to the new Lime Street corridor and then through to the city’s waterfront.
The proposed new facility is one of six permanent routes the Council is delivering as part of it Active Travel programme, and it will also feature new and improved footways, pedestrian crossing facilities and landscaping.
The city centre to Childwall route also sets out to fill gaps in the existing network to enhance the city’s cycling offer.
The six-week long consultation runs until 5pm, Monday, 31 July with information and a feedback form available online at: www.liverpool.gov.uk/activetravelconsultation
As part of the consultation, the Council will be hosting three events for the public to view the proposals and ask questions at:
- Frontline Church, Wellington Road - Wednesday 28 June, 4pm – 8pm
- Liverpool Hope University, EDEN Building, Taggart Avenue - Monday 3 July, 4pm – 8pm
- Central Library Atrium, William Brown Street - Saturday 8 July, 10am – 2pm
Councillor Dan Barrington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Liverpool’s cycling offer is not yet where it should be – but as these plans show we are moving in the right direction.
“The Childwall-City corridor has the potential to make cycling an easier option for tens of thousands of people. When you factor in how it will connect to other routes, you start to see the impact this could have - be it in our environment, our air quality and people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
“Rebalancing the shift away from cars to more active travel is also going to be fundamental for any city in its pursuit in tackling climate change. This is the challenge of our lifetime and the more people engage in this conversation and our consultations the better our offer will become.
“The work won’t stop here. There’s more to come. And with better facilities too for our children to learn how to ride, like at Everton Park, we’re sowing the seeds for the next generation to be even more cycle-minded and laying the foundation for a real revolution in how Liverpool gets moving.”
Simon O’Brien, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for the Liverpool City Region, said: “Cycling is great for air quality and the environment, and brilliant for our physical and mental health and wellbeing. But we shouldn’t just think of getting on our bikes as exercise – it’s also a cheap and easy way to commute to work, travel to school or college and even pop to the local shops.
“But to encourage more people to leave the car at home for short journeys we need to make cycling a really attractive option by building safe, separated routes where people can ride their bikes with confidence. That’s why routes like the three new ones being planned around Liverpool are so important.
“We know that across our city region support for new, safer cycle lanes is really high – about 70% of people back this infrastructure being built – but it’s vital to get feedback from residents, road users and cyclists about specific routes, and that’s why we’re asking people to take part in this consultation and let us know what they think.”
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