Promise of £1.2Bn from the Government to reform active travel has been described as “paltry” by the Campaign for Better Transport.

 

Department for Transport’s new five year Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published on Friday, pledges £476M from local growth funding to support walking and cycling and £389M for councils to invest in schemes.

 

But CfBT’s chief executive Stephen Joseph said: “The £1.2Bn made available is paltry, less than 10% of the £15Bn Road Investment Strategy. Active travel is vital for public health and a healthy environment. Yet without sufficient dedicated funding, walking and cycling will continue to lose out.”

 

He added: “Too often the transport money allocated through the Growth Fund and Local Enterprise Partnerships ends up being spent on new roads, generating more traffic and pollution and reinforcing car dependency.”

 

The Government’s strategy sets out to make cycling and walking the norm for shorter journeys by 2040 and promises £101M to improve cycling infrastructure and expand cycle routes. Improvements for cyclists on 200 sections of road will receive £85M, with £80M set aside for community based cycle training, maintenance and safety and new bicycle storage facilities.

 

Cycling UK’s policy director Roger Geffin said he is pleased to see the strategy finally published two years after it was announced but said the hard work begins now.

 

“With national and local elections now looming we will be doing all we can to build the cross party support needed to strengthen this investment strategy over time, while supporting councils in making best use of the resources available as they start bringing this vision to life.”

 

(Photo: Tejvan Pettinger and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)