Council awarded £214,000 to boost cycling and walking in Portsmouth

Portsmouth City Council has been awarded more cash than the £192,000 it initially bid for to create low traffic neighbourhoods, new pedestrian crossings and pop-up bike lanes, after a ‘particularly strong’ appeal to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The cash will be used for some changes that have already been implemented during lockdown, including road closures along the seafront and in the city centre.

Councillor Lynne Stagg, the council's traffic and transport boss, said: ‘The funding will help us fast track some of our future plans, and the great news for Portsmouth is that the government gave us more funding than they initially allocated and this means we can make further improvements for cycling and walking in Portsmouth that exceeded our hopes.

‘Transforming the way we travel in Portsmouth is essential for everyone. Active travel is proven to help keep people healthy and reduces the cars on the road that cause air pollution. All of which are connected with reducing the risks of coronavirus and will help reduce the spread.’

Council plans for the funds came under fire at the beginning of June when a proposal to turn one of the lanes on Eastern Road into a bike lane was scrapped just three days before work was due to start.

A spokesman for the Pompey Street Space campaign, which has been lobbying for more cycle and walking routes in the city, was hopeful the cash would used for ‘ambitious’ projects. He said: ‘We welcome this positive new and hope that the money is used for ambitious schemes.

‘In particular we would like to see joined up cycle routes that enable residents to travel safely and quickly from the north of the city to the south and vice versa.’

The council will now bid for a second tranche of funding, of around £760,000, to make more long term improvements to the city.

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