Have Your Say on hat-trick of new cycle lanes

A major public consultation is being launched today (Monday, 1 August) to get views on improvements to three cycle routes in Liverpool.

Liverpool City Council is asking the public for their feedback on the proposed permanent lanes, which are located on the following routes:

• East Lancashire Road to the city centre – from Norris Green to Breck Road and on to Everton Park.
• Gateacre to the city centre – connecting up the university campuses through to the Knowledge Quarter.
• Sefton Park to the city centre – connecting the Ropewalks to Baltic Triangle and on to Dingle and Aigburth.

The proposals are key to the city’s Active Travel programme and will also feature new and improved footpaths and pedestrian crossing facilities.

The measures being proposed set out to fill gaps in the existing network to overcome significant barriers to cycling.

Equating to some six kilometres of continuous cycle routes, these new lanes will also connect to other new routes such as the Princes Avenue cycleway in Toxteth and will complement schemes such as Lime Street in the city centre, which is celebrating the opening of Liverpool’s newest cycle lane today.

The six-week long consultation runs until Friday, 9 September with information and a feedback form available online at www.liverpool.gov.uk/consultation

As part of the consultation, the city council will be hosting events for the public to view the proposals and ask questions. The location and dates of these events will be published on www.liverpool.gov.uk/consultation.

This new £3m phase of the city’s Active Travel programme also includes improving 30 access points along the Liverpool Loop Line, which runs 16km through the city from Halewood to Aintree.

The city council has also developed designs for a new cycle training facility at Everton Park, as part of the British Cycling “places to ride” programme. This facility would be the first of its kind in the city, providing an artificial road network for children to understand how to navigate different types of junctions.

Funding for this new phase comes from the European Union, the Department for Transport, Liverpool City Region and planning contributions from the city council’s Section 106 fund.

Following the consultation, the proposed measures will be signed off by the council which will then issue a tender to procure contractors to carry out the schemes.

It is expected the works will be complete by Spring 2023.

Following completion, the city council will then begin the process of reviewing the three pop-up cycle routes that were created during the pandemic – West Derby Road, Vauxhall Road and Sefton Park.

Councillor Dan Barrington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Liverpool’s cycling offer is not yet where it should be – but thanks to this investment we are moving in the right direction.

“These three new permanent cycle lanes have the potential to make a big difference to thousands of people who live and work in these areas because they make the crucial connection to other cycle routes.

“Joining up the routes and closing the gaps and breaks in our cycling network is a critical piece of work and I’m really delighted with the designs to open up the Liverpool Loop Line as that will be truly transformational for getting around the city by bike.

“With each new update we do more journeys are going to be continuous which makes cycling a more practical option, a whole lot more pleasurable and most importantly, safer. The planned improvements to footpaths will also make it better for pedestrians too.

“This consultation is just the start of this particular chapter in our journey to being a first class cycling city. And it won’t be too long before these new permanent lanes are operational, like those on The Strand and as we see today on Lime Street too.

“Rebalancing the shift away from cars to more active travel is going to be fundamental for any city in its pursuit in tackling climate change. It will have a huge impact on us all, in terms of physical and mental well-being and collectively for its benefits to our air quality and overall environment.

“The work won’t stop with these three routes. 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 let us know what they think.”