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Jun 2020

Transport

Council "disappointed" over emergency cash for cycle lanes

Published: 30 Jun 2020, 17:57 BST

by Tamsin O'Brien

North Yorkshire County Council says its committed to providing extra cycle and walking ways post lockdown even though it was "disappointed" with the £133,000 its been given- one Harrogate cycle group accused it of a lack of ambition

North Yorkshire County Council said it remains committed to providing extra cycle and walk ways even though it said it was "disappointed" with the amount of money its been given by central government.

The county council bid for money from the Government’s "emergency active travel fund" to provide extra support for sustainable travel as part of the national recovery from coronavirus.

But the council was only allocated £133,000, half of the possible maximum available.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said:

“We have a long-standing commitment to active, sustainable travel, and that remains undimmed. The allocation from this first tranche of funding is disappointing, but we will learn from this bid and are determined to take full advantage of the next phase of funding and beyond"

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Harrogate District Cycling Action gave us this statement:

It's disappointing that NYCC has only received 50% of the Tranche 1 amount provisionally allocated to it (which was £266,000). It must be because the plans presented weren't ambitious enough.

There's an opportunity later in the summer to bid for a further £1,065,000, and we would like NYCC to work with us in developing the best possible bid. The recent Harrogate Congestion Survey showed 77% support for improved walking & cycling infrastructure. This is an opportunity to invest in it, and it's vital it isn't wasted.

The authority said it was planning to bid for the second wave of cash. Cllr Mackenzie said:

“Initial feedback from the Department for Transport indicates that the drive behind this first tranche of the fund is to enable people travelling on public transport, particularly those going to and from work, to instead cycle or walk.

This is primarily an issue for large urban areas which have much higher levels of this sort of public transport usage.. Presently, our main impetus is creating town centre spaces to enable social distancing.

“We await guidance on the requirements for the second phase, which is likely to see an emphasis on schemes identified through our local walking and cycling infrastructure plans, which will be more permanent measures.

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Council "disappointed" over emergency cash for cycle lanes

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