Leicester to improve walking and cycling routes

A range of measures to improve routes for pedestrians and cyclists are to be implemented by Leicester City Council as part of its Transforming Cities Fund programme, working in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, Blaby District Council and Braunstone Town Council.

The scheme will receive £450,000 of DfT cash through Sustrans’ Paths for Everyone programme to help improve the National Cycle Network.

Another £500,000 of funding will come from the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) through the Leicester and Leicestershire Business Rates Pool fund.

The new measures will link New Lubbesthorpe, through Aylestone, with Leicester city centre. Work will include widening footpaths in Blaby and creating safer crossings at key junctions to provide a direct link to existing cycling provision on Meridian Way.

The footpath across Mossdale Meadows will be widened to provide more space for walkers and cyclists. A new direct link onto the meadows from Meridian Leisure Park will also be created, as part of a project coordinated by its owners Savills.

Pop-up cycle lanes on Western Boulevard and Mill Lane will be made permanent, providing a link to De Montfort University campus, the city centre and Braunstone Gate where work is currently underway on a major ‘mini-Holland’ revamp.

The improvements are due to begin in August 2022, and are expected to take nine months to complete.

Deputy city mayor Adam Clarke, who leads on environment and transport, said: “For the city to grow sustainably, it is essential that we provide the infrastructure to help people make the shift to more sustainable and active forms of transport for their shorter journeys. By making routes safer for pedestrians and cyclists, we are enabling more people to leave the car at home and choose cleaner, greener and cheaper ways of getting about.

“I am really pleased that we are able to work with our partners in the county to provide this valuable new route for cyclists and pedestrians within the city boundary and the wider urban area.”