Presentation by John Bann, Cycling and Roadspace Transformation Manager, Nottingham City Council
Minutes:
Keith Morgan, Cycling and Roadspace Transformation, gave a presentation on the Western Cycle Corridor, highlighting the following:
(a)
cycling is an important part of the transport mix in Nottingham,
and investment is planned at £10 per head of the
population;
(b)
a Cycling Action Plan has been written
which prioritises certain routes to improve, one of the first of
which will be the Western Cycle corridor which will go from the
city centre to Priory Island along Castle Boulevard, Abbey Bridge,
University Boulevard and Woodside Road. This will form a part of a
wider network of routes to link important destinations in
Nottingham, including routes alongside the tram tracks and the
River Leen;
(c)
the number of cyclists in Nottingham is
increasing year on year and a target is in place for 10% of
journeys to work to be by bicycle by 2025. This is an ambitious
target as the figure is currently 3%;
(d)
£6.1million funding for the cycle network was made available
from the D2N2 local economic partnership, as it will create jobs
and help Nottingham to grow;
(e)
the western cycle corridor will create a
facility that cyclists will be happier to use along busy roads as
it will be safe and segregated as well as fast and direct. Current
cycle lanes are not user-friendly as they are unsegregated from
pedestrians and get blocked by parked cars and trees;
(f)
different types of route will be
created: along Castle Boulevard and over Abbey Bridge there will be
a segregated Cycle Super Highway on the same level as the road but
segregated from it with priority over cars exiting from side roads,
whereas in other areas the cycle lanes will be at the same level as
pedestrians. Shared space with cyclists and pedestrians is being
kept to a minimum but is required in some areas;
(g)
at the Abbey Bridge roundabout, cyclists will not need to cycle on
the road and a new pedestrian crossing will be created over Abbey
Bridge;
(h)
alongside the Queens Medical Centre (QMC), the QMC has agreed to
give up some of its land to enable the path to be widened and the
boundary wall will be removed to improve visibility;
(i) the corridor will link into local neighbourhood schemes such as the Lenton Green Corridor;
The following answers were given in response to questions from the Committee:
(j)
the current cycling layout on Castle
Boulevard is not dangerous, but underused as it is perceived to be
dangerous and difficult to use. Evidence from Sustrans demonstrates that the Cycle Super Highway
will be more attractive to users;
(k)
construction will begin soon and
finished by April or May 2016 as the funding needs to be used over
2 years. All the money to build the route is in place;
(l)
the Council has engaged with local communities and organisations
during the planning and consultation phase, and is happy to
continue to do so during construction and implementation;
(m)there are no current plans for
Radford Road but this can be looked at as part of future
plans;
(n)
the canal towpath is becoming very busy with cyclists and this
route aims to provide a more direct and pleasant route to cycle
along;
(o) the Castle Bridge Road and Gregory Street junctions will remain open for vehicles, with separate traffic signals for cyclists and car drivers.
RESOLVED to thank Keith for the presentation