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Going Dutch? Greater Manchester builds a £20m bid for cycle superhighways

In Transport on 30.04.2013
Contributed by Steve Connor

Greater Manchester has made a bid for £20 million to make cycling safer and easier across the city region. If successful this will be the first phase of an ambitious "Vélocity 2025" strategy which will see cycling in Greater Manchester transformed over the next 12 years.

It comes as part of the government’s Cycle City Ambition Grant (CCAG), which offers financial support for ambitious long-term plans for cycling in British cities and city regions. Greater Manchester will be competing against the likes of Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol for funding.

The vision captured in "Velocity 2025" is to make cycling a part of everyday life and increase, by 2025, the number of people cycling by 300%. If CCAG funds are awarded, they would unlock cycling investment for Vélocity 2025 worth £150 to £200 million from a range of public and private partners.

The highlights of the programme would include:

  • A major new network of strategic, integrated and — where possible — segregated cycle routes to employment centres, schools and leisure facilities.
  • A series "Cycle and Ride" facilities to help people connect with Metrolink and rail services from the outskirts of the regional centre.
  • An ambitious programme of cycling promotion and education inspired by other European cities.

To find out more visit www.tfgm.com/velocity.

Velocity2025_vision.pdf [PDF, 1.86Mb]