Short car journeys to be replaced by walking and cycling 'within a decade' as Peterborough receives travel funding boost

More accessible routes will “alter reliance on the private car” in the city, and throughout the county, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) head of transport Tim Bellamy said.

It comes as hundreds of thousands of pounds of additional funding for active travel schemes were granted to the institution.

The funding, totalling £822,920, was granted by the Government this month after a successful bid to finance Peterborough City Council (PCC) and Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC)’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs).

What does this mean for our city?

Peterborough will receive £221,000 of the funding.

The council is proposing to improve 'active travel infrastructure' - such as cycle lanes, lower speed limits and larger networks of walkable roads - for several key routes in the city.

These include cycle routes connecting Arundel Road, Fulbridge Road, Shrewbury Avenue, Stanground and Orton centre to Peterborough city centre.

Other priorities include improving cycle routes between Jack Hunt School, Peterborough College and Queen Katherine Academy and central Peterborough.

For walking, routes such as Lincoln Road to Rhubarb Bridge and Park Road to Bluebell Avenue in Westgate have been identified as current priorities.

When will changes happen?

PCC plans to implement its LCWIP by 2029, but the plans remain subject to potential change.

The LCWIP is currently being reviewed by local councillors and representatives and will be subject to public consultation in the future, PCC says.

CPCA’s funding will be put in part towards further data collection to determine where the greatest demand for walking and cycling in Peterborough is which will also inform these plans, the council added.

Another scheme to which some of the funding will be allocated is the city's existing 'Bike-It' programme, which sees charity Sustrans deliver talks and activities in almost 30 local primary and secondary schools.

‘Help city get fitter’

PCC Councillor Marco Cereste said: “This funding will give us the data to help get more of our residents walking and cycling on a regular basis for short journeys. In turn this will help our city get fitter and improve wellbeing, while at the same time, reducing carbon emissions.”

CPCA says that the additional funding it has been granted for PCC and CCC active travel projects will promote “greener, cleaner and healthier travel”.

Mr Bellamy said: “This is fantastic news and I’m absolutely delighted that the Combined Authority, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City council will be working together to revolutionise the way transport works for the people of our county, to alter reliance on the private car, and to create a joined-up infrastructure for greener, cleaner and healthier travel.”

The funding comes after Active Travel England, a Government agency parented by the Department of Transport, announced that it would support the development of LCWIPs across the a £32.9 million investment.

CCC, meanwhile, will fund an “active travel advocate” within the council to “push forward” active travel schemes and create a new website.

These schemes will help place Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in a “strong position” to bid for future investment to deliver these various projects, the CPCA says.