Liverpool City Region on track for active travel revolution after securing further £16m

Mayor Steve Rotheram’s plans to kickstart an active travel revolution in the Liverpool City Region are on track after securing a further £16m to create a network of safe, easy-to-use walking and cycling routes across the region.

The funding takes the Mayor’s total investment in active travel to nearly £70m, helping deliver new active travel infrastructure and improve connections between existing and planned routes.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said: 

“I want to kickstart an active travel revolution in our area – one that offers better connected, safer routes that make it easier for people to choose cleaner ways to travel.

“We’ve invested millions to upgrade walking and cycling routes right across our region, connecting communities to areas and opportunities that may have previously been out of reach.

“It’s a key part of my plan to build a London-style public transport network that is faster, cheaper, cleaner and better connected and, crucially, gives people a quality alternative to the car. The more people we can encourage to walk or cycle, particularly for short journeys, the faster we can start to reduce congestion on our roads, reduce our carbon footprint and improve the quality of the air our children are breathing.”

Schemes being backed by the £16m of new funds include a permanent cycle lane on West Derby Road in Liverpool, improvements to the Crosby Pedestrian Coastal Park, Widnes town centre and a route connecting Lea Green and Whiston Hospital. Further funding has also been secured for enhancements on Conway Street in Birkenhead.

The money was secured by Mayor Rotheram and the Combined Authority from the government’s Active Travel Fund, with a bid so persuasive that the region won nearly three times its indicative allowance.

The Mayor has already committed more than £50m to develop active travel infrastructure to deliver his pledge to build a 600km network of walking and cycling routes across the city region. This latest funding will take the total investment to almost £70m.

Simon O’Brien, Liverpool City Region Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: 

“It is fantastic to see this new funding being unlocked, to really help us push forward with our plans to help create a network of walking and cycling routes that befits our region.

“We’ve got some great active travel infrastructure in the city region, but we need to make sure it’s properly linked up so people feel confident that they can travel easily and safely by bike or on foot – that’s what this new funding will help to do.

“The kind of schemes that will be delivered by this money give us an amazing opportunity to help change the way we think about travelling around our local area.”

Schemes being backed by the £16m of new funds include:

• West Derby Road cycle corridor, Liverpool
• Junction improvements on Princes Avenue, Liverpool
• Lea Green to Whiston Hospital, St Helens and Knowsley
• Widnes Town Centre Accessibility, Halton
• Crosby Pedestrian Coastal Park, Sefton
• Pedestrian connectivity in Huyton Town Centre, Knowsley
• Junction and access improvements Tower Hill to Knowsley Business Park
• Pedestrian connectivity in Southport Town Centre, Sefton
• Improvements to A565/ Woodvale Junction, Sefton
• Junction improvements on Croxteth Road, Liverpool
• Junction improvements on Vauxhall Road, Liverpool
• Conway Street, Birkenhead (additional funding secured)