Cycling and walking routes in Lancashire to get over £5.5 million investment
The Government says our streets will become safer and less congested
The school run is about to be transformed in Lancashire as over £5.5million is set to be invested into walking and cycling routes.
Lancashire has been awarded £5,529,992 of this Government funding from the Department of Transport.
The investment will also boost local economies and generate around 16 million extra walking and cycling trips nationwide.
As well as economical benefits, there will be environmental gains with less congestion on the roads.
Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:
“We want to make sure everyone across the country can choose cheaper, greener and healthier travel, while we continue to support our high streets and local businesses.”
A country wide package of £200 million, which was announced in February, will deliver a variety of schemes across the UK to make streets around schools safer.
The projects that have been awarded funding have proven they can provide attractive reasons for cycling and walking on local journeys, with local authorities working with people in the area to ensure maximal benefit to the community.
Safety and accessibility are at the heart of the improvements and creation of walking and cycling routes, allowing parents and children walking to schools to be safer and users of wheelchairs and mobility scooters to be included more.
National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said:
“By giving millions of people the freedom of choice to walk, wheel or cycle for everyday trips, this funding will help us improve public health, tackle climate change and give hundreds of thousands of children the independence to travel safely under their own steam.
“Now our focus is working with councils to get these schemes built swiftly. We’ll be working together to ensure the projects are well designed and effective, so that they bring maximum benefits to communities and help improve lives nationwide.”