Cycleway prioritisation tool developed by University of Leeds

Coronavirus: Project commissioned by DfT and Sustrans

A tool that helps identify locations for new cycleways has been developed by the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds.

The tool was commissioned by walking and cycling charity Sustrans and the Department for Transport (DfT).

The Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool has been developed to help inform bids for Tranche 2 of the Government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, particularly for English authorities that have not yet developed Local Cycling and Walking Investment Plans.

Tranche 2 will fund temporary or permanent infrastructure schemes aimed at increasing walking and cycling levels and helping to shift people away from public transport given capacity constraints imposed by social distancing.

The tool provides an interactive map of the following:

• road sections that have both high demand and sufficient space for cycling (blue lines)
• existing off-road cycleways, which are often patchy (green)
• a vision of what a joined-up cycle network could look like (purple).

The Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool was the subject of a Landor LINKS Green Transport Recovery webinar on 17 June. To see the webinar click here

Last month, under new emergency statutory guidance, the Government told councils in England to reallocate road space for walking and cycling, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money has been allocated in three tranches for councils to implement the measures needed to help people walk and cycle safely. 

Launching the tool, Robin Lovelace, Associate Professor in Transport Data Science and Joey Talbot, Research Fellow in Transport Data Science from University of Leeds, said: “Local authorities urgently need to decide how this funding should be spent. If action is prioritised in places where there is a long-term need for cycle improvements, there is a greater chance that these developments can become permanent.

“New cycling infrastructure is more likely to be effective when it is developed based on analysis of the best available data, in combination with vital local knowledge. City planners, politicians and citizens need to act to ensure that transport interventions made during the crisis are of maximum benefit now and in the post-pandemic world.”

The research is based on open data and code and could be used in any town and city.

For more information about the Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool click here

Sustrans’ Space to Move map lists all new cycling and walking schemes whilst allowing public to share their views on them: www.sustrans.org.uk/spacetomove