Humber Bridge walkways to reopen to pedestrians and cyclists tomorrow

Walkways on the Humber Bridge will reopen tomorrow, according to a local Member of Parliament, enabling people who cross it on foot or by bike, including to get to and from work, to enjoy full access again.

On 3 April and with no notice, the bridge’s owners and operators, The Humber Bridge Board, blocked access to the walkways following several suicides in the preceding weeks.

While the decision to close the walkways was understandable given the circumstances, there was criticism over no alternative arrangements being put in place, with the only alternative road route to cross the estuary involving a 60-mile detour.

Limited access was subsequently restored in mid-April, but as Cycling UK noted, it was not clear how the system worked, nor was there any mention of it on the bridge’s website, and Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy asked for clarification on whether people needed to register to use such a service.

In a Facebook post this morning, Hardy confirmed that the bridge’s walkways would reopen daily from 5am to 9pm. People wanting access outside those times will need to contact the Humber Bridge Board.

Cycling UK’s head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore said: “For over a month the Humber Bridge has been closed to all pedestrians and anyone cycling save for those commuter cyclists who managed to get through a cumbersome registration process, so a partial re-opening tomorrow is welcome progress.

“But the tragic loss of life along the bridge has been a chronic problem for over a decade, requiring investment in long term infrastructure and intervention measures, whilst banning people on foot or a bike from crossing the bridge was only ever a knee jerk reaction which didn’t address the causes or long-term solutions.

“Cycling UK hopes that the Humber Bridge Board will at last recognise the importance of maintaining cycle and pedestrian access whilst improving suicide prevention measures, and if they must have a registration system for people to cross, make it simple, easily accessible, with registration and other restrictions being time limited rather than permanent,” he added.

The Samaritans website contains advice to people who are struggling with their mental health on how they can obtain help.

The charity’s advisors can be contacted at any time on the free telephone number 116 123, or via email tojo [at] samaritans.org "> jo [at] samaritans.org with a response time of 24 hours.

It has also developed a self-help app that enables users to “Keep track of how you're feeling, and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis.”