By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
More improvements on major routes in Nottingham will continue the city council’s plan to create an east-west cycle route that is almost completely segregated from traffic.
The Labour-run authority says it has secured more than £1.7m from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund in its latest round.
The money will be used for improvements along Porchester Road, including a segregated two-way cycle route and improved road crossings.
According to the council, Porchester Road forms a “key part” of the city’s cycle network, and the work will complement works taking place in Carlton Road as well as planned improvements in St Ann’s Well Road.
“The perceived risk of cycling is frequently reported as one of the main barriers to people cycling and is a particularly significant barrier to encouraging children to cycle,” the council says.
“Providing segregated off-road cycle facilities is one of the best ways to remove this barrier and encourage more people of all ages to cycle.”
Financing the scheme using Government money has been recommended for approval at an Executive Board meeting on June 20.
Documents released ahead of the meeting say the first phase of improvement work will take place between the new toucan crossing near Burgass Road junction, and up towards the junction with Cherrywood Gardens.
The toucan crossing was installed in Porchester Road in 2021, funded using Government grant money at the time.
The Porchester Road scheme will also provide an off-road connection to Hogarth Primary School.
A second phase of improvements has been planned for the Carlton Road and Porchester Road junction, including work to continue the cycle route from Cherrywood Gardens to Kenrick Road.
However, the council is yet to secure funding.
Documents also reveal a further £1m will be used to deliver improvements to the east-west cycle corridor in London Road, where Conygar’s Island Quarter development is taking place.
The council’s executive will recommend that the £1m, which will come as a section 106 contribution from the developers, is released into the council’s Transforming Cities programme.
The Department for Transport will then match the funding.
Council documents add: “The connections to the Island Quarter will be directly enhanced with this additional funding through the new infrastructure on the London Road and Station Street junction, and planned for the BBC Island.
“These will connect to upgraded cycle and pedestrian facilities along Canal Street, Station Street and London Road with future works planned on Bellar Gate and Fisher Gate, with existing and proposed routes through the site to be provided by the developer.
“These improvements have proved popular with cyclists and have enabled an east-west cycle corridor to be established across the whole city that is almost completely segregated from motor traffic.
“In doing so this enables access by bikes to key trips such as the city centre, university campuses, QMC, Bio City and the new Nottingham College City Hub campus.”
