North Somerset Council wins further funding for walking, wheeling and cycling improvements
North Somerset Council has won £417,640 of funding from Active Travel England to help enable people to walk, wheel or cycle more.
The funding will go towards improving pedestrian and cyclist crossings over roads, safety improvements on routes to schools and opening up a new section of The Strawberry Line.
A number of crossings will be improved by reducing the waiting time at priority locations across the area, providing a new zebra crossing on a route to school in Weston and safety improvements to some of the Festival Way’s junctions.
The council has also received funding to make safety improvements outside several schools through the provision of ‘School Streets’ and to provide a small but key section of ‘missing link’ to open up The Strawberry Line in Yatton North End, helping to link into the upcoming Pier to Pier Way route (Weston to Clevedon).
Safety and accessibility will be at the heart of improvements. The creation of walking and cycling routes will encourage more children to walk or wheel to school, improve safety for women travelling alone as well as improve access for people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters, ensuring streets are more inclusive.
Alongside the environmental benefits, the plans will help ease congestion in our towns and villages, with people choosing more active choices which can benefit their mental and physical health and wellbeing and relieve pressure on the NHS.
Additional scheme ‘development’ funds were also received to help the council in preparing for future investment in infrastructure.
This grant is part of the £200 million of Government funding for cycling and walking schemes, helping to promote healthy travel, reduce emissions and grow the economy.