UK government invests £7m to boost cycle safety

The UK government will invest £7m ($5m) in cycling projects to improve road safety and create more bike-friendly areas that encourage more people to cycle as part of everyday journeys. It is part of the Department of Transport’s (DoT’s) cycle safety review, which aims to ensure that the country’s roads are as safe as possible for everyone using them. Eight cities, which have already received help from the government to promote cycling, will be able to bid for an additional £6.5m ($4.6m) of funding to
February 27, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The UK government will invest £7m ($5m) in cycling projects to improve road safety and create more bike-friendly areas that encourage more people to cycle as part of everyday journeys. It is part of the Department of Transport’s (DoT’s) cycle safety review, which aims to ensure that the country’s roads are as safe as possible for everyone using them. 

Eight cities, which have already received help from the government to promote cycling, will be able to bid for an additional £6.5m ($4.6m) of funding to trial new schemes. These include Bristol, Leeds, Cambridge, Birmingham, Norwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford.

In addition, £0.5m ($0.3m) will be reserved to support Cycling UK’s Big Bike revival, an initiative that intends to get more people cycling safely and confidently across the country.

The DoT has invited bids from eight councils and will be looking to support schemes which improve safety for cyclists as well as deliver benefits for pedestrians.
 
Jesse Norman cycling minister said: “Everyone should be able to take advantage of the huge health and environmental benefits of cycling.

“While Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, we want to encourage more people to take up cycling. This funding, as part of our overall cycling and walking strategy, will help local councils to make their roads safer for everyone.”

Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Cycling UK, said: “Last year the big bike revival reached more than 50,000 people in England, and produced more than 6,000 regular cyclists, so the project represents incredible value for money.

“I’m delighted that the Department for Transport has recognised its significance by funding it for another year so we can get even more people cycling every day.”

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Lorry levy a success after only four months
    August 15, 2014
    The HGV road user levy has made more than £17 million in the four months since it came into operation, says the UK Department for Transport. More than 618,000 levies have been purchased for over 112,000 vehicles from 76 different countries since the HGV road user levy was introduced in April 2014 – which has produced enough money to patch more than 320,000 potholes on the UK’s roads. Recent evidence shows over 95% of heavy goods vehicle operators are paying the new levy in Great Britain. Roadside chec
    Read More
  • V2X: “The stars are aligning,” says Qualcomm’s Jim Misener
    July 5, 2023
    The roll-out of Vehicle to Everything technology has been given a massive boost by the US Federal Communications Commission: Adam Hill talks to Qualcomm’s Jim Misener and Andres Castrillon to find out why it matters so much – and what the next steps to mass deployment are
    Read More
  • Clean air zone trial launched in Birmingham
    March 31, 2016
    A research project that gathers information on vehicle emissions in Birmingham got under way last month as part of the UK Government’s ongoing efforts to meet EU air quality targets. In December 2015, the UK Government announced plans to introduce Clean Air Zones in cities, including Birmingham, by 2020. These zones will not affect private car owners, but would aim to discourage the most polluting vehicles, such as old buses, coaches and lorries, from entering the zone. The new project, developed by B
    Read More
  • Mobility pricing offers new tools for managing mobility
    November 23, 2017
    Mobility pricing is the best way of sustaining and enhancing mobility, argues Moving Forward Consulting’s Josef Czako. Mobility pricing (MP) is effectively the culmination of the ‘user pays’ principle and has been referred to in many policy discussions about electronic toll collection, road user charging (RUC), and pricing. MP not only reflects the ‘use more, pay more’ nature of RUC, it also takes account of the external cost of journeys including pollution, noise, the cost of congestion and accidents.
    Read More

Highlighted Content