Cash pledged to revive 1930s cycle tracks

CYCLING

A crowd-funding campaign to revive neglected cycle tracks across England has raised more than £23,000. 

The Kickstarter campaign, which had set a target of £7,000, was launched by cycling historian and author Carlton Reid and traffic engineer, transport planner and urban designer John Dales (LTT 28 Apr). They say more than 300 miles of cycle tracks were built by the then Ministry of Transport in the late 1930s, but some have been buried while others are “hidden in plain sight”.

Reid will carry out historical research to identify the routes, and Dales will evaluate which are the most viable. “We will choose about ten routes and then get it down to the five we think have real potential,” said Dales. “We can work out a reasonably detailed concept design and show how we can mesh these routes with modern cycling networks.

“It will boil down to which routes can most easily become part of a good contemporary cycling network. We will need to look at if they offer value for money – how much more cycling are you likely to get for how much cost?”

They hope the shortlisted projects will attract council funding. “It may be that just a small amount is needed to bring these routes back to life, which would represent an efficient use of limited resources,” said Dales.