New cycle lanes and walkways are on the way for part of Nottingham following the city council's successful bid for Government cash. The local authority received £18million of funding for cycle and bus routes as part of its plans towards Nottingham’s carbon neutral plan.
A total of £3.3million has been funded from the Department of Transport to improve cycle corridors and walkways in St Ann’s, Leen Valley and Basford. A segregated cycle corridor with improvements for pedestrians is planned along St Ann’s Well Road. The improvements are part of efforts to encourage ‘active travel’ like cycling and walking.
But some local residents said they would prefer other issues were dealt with first. James Morgan, 34 a builder who lives in St Ann’s, said: “It’s just ridiculous isn’t it? I don’t know about Basford or Leen Valley but I hardly see people cycling around here anyway. If I saw more people cycling, fair enough but why improve something that’s sufficient enough so only a small percentage of people use it? It’s a waste of money, the council needs to be bidding for better.
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“There’s so many potholes that can be fixed that would save people’s cars from future damages. That’s worth looking into.”
The St Ann’s Well Road route has been prioritised because it serves the north of the city where there is less cycling provision than other areas. But Cynthia James, 59 also agrees that cycle lane improvements aren’t needed.
Cynthia, who has lived in St Ann’s all her life also feels that potholes are a problem. As well as working full time, Cynthia is also involved in many community based initiatives.
She said: “It would have been nice for there to be a consultation rather than just assuming this is something [cycle corridors] that needs to be fixed. There’s only one lane on Wells Road and it doesn’t need improving if anything, that road is really dangerous for cyclists and I’ve seen a lot of near misses there."
Cynthia continued and said: “That money would be better spent elsewhere like fixing the potholes in the roads in St Ann’s.”
Bruce Morely, 67 doesn’t see many people cycling in St Ann’s. Bruce said: “I agree with improving walkways, that will make the area look better but people don’t even use the cycle lanes, they cycle wherever they please. I see more of those scooters more than anything else.”
Councillor Audra Wynter, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for Transport said: “Nottingham is leading the way with green travel alternatives to the car, which is playing a big part in our carbon neutral ambitions. I’m delighted that we have secured more than £18m for improvements which will benefit cyclists and pedestrians on three key routes in the city, and allow NCT to enhance their already excellent green credentials with 78 new electric buses adding to the 29 electric buses and 120 biogas buses already in our city.
“Delivering high quality sustainable green transport will enable Nottingham to become a resilient city that is able to cope and do its bit to help tackle climate change. By improving the liveability of local neighbourhoods and creating healthier streets that are co-designed with our communities, all residents will benefit from a smarter, cleaner, better connected and forward-looking transport system. All designed to make Nottingham a better place to live, work, play and invest.”
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