Investment to swap four wheels for two

A £10 million boost to cycleways across the East of England has been delivered in the last five years by Highways England.

This initiative has been put in place to encourage more people to get out into the great outdoors and onto their bikes.

Nineteen cycling schemes have been constructed in the region since 2015 and a further 11 are expected by the end of March 2020 as a part of Highways England’s Cycle, Safety and Integration Designated Funds programme.

The agency have made smoother cycle paths, safer crossings and better signage to connect the cycle network across the region to provide a safer ride.

Highways England regional director, Martin Fellows, said: “We want to make sure that our roads in the east create opportunities for cyclists, not barriers to journeys.

“Our vision five years ago was to create better and improved cycling facilities that are safe and separate from traffic, which encourages cycling as a sustainable form of transport and make every day journeys as easy as possible.

“In the future we’ll continue this great initiative of upgrading the cycle network alongside out road enhancements, ensuring that people are able to cycle and walk more – with obvious benefits to their health, safety and the wider environment.

The work in the East of England is part of Highways England’s £175m dedicated fund to provide improvements and new facilities which make it safer and easy for cyclists and pedestrians to negotiate its roads.

A total of 101 new schemes have been built so far nationwide, meaning it’s now far easier than it was for cyclists to navigate the country.

A further 49 schemes are scheduled to be delivered by March 2020.

Highways England also invested £2.5m into bolstering cycle routes along the A12 near Lowestoft, in Suffolk.

The project made significant improvements to the cycle routes making it easier for people peddling through the town, while a signalised crossing, dropped kerbs and improved signage was also introduced.

In addition to these projects, Highways England has also upgraded cycle ways on the A47 in Norfolk, the A14 in Cambridgeshire, the A120 in Harwich and the A5 in Dunstable.

Image: Photo by S Sjöberg on Unsplash