Infrastructure

Active Travel England announces plans to deliver 70 miles of new or improved cycling routes as part of £101 million funding boost – but is it enough to get the government’s active travel targets back on track?

The new investment, which comes two months after the government was told it is not “on track” to meet its active travel objectives, will also be used to fund e-cycle loans and enable councils to undertake “proper” consultations on schemes

“How exactly is a disabled person supposed to access this bridge?”: Campaigners call on council to remove “unlawful, discriminatory” barriers from National Cycle Route

The barriers, recently installed at the bridge’s entrance to restrict access to ‘anti-social’ motorcyclists, represent an “absolutely shocking breach of the Equality Act”, activists say

Conservative MP slammed for “incorrectly” claiming that “bankrupt” council is prioritising £10m cycle lane extension over local services

Cycling campaigners have pointed out that plans to upgrade the “existing death trap on-road” cycle lanes are being funded by the government, not the local authority

Cycling is being made “more dangerous by design”, claim campaigners after cyclists refused infrastructure and told to avoid busy junction by council

The council said there was “insufficient space” to provide additional infrastructure without introducing unacceptable levels of traffic congestion

Government continues “angry rhetoric” against low traffic neighbourhoods despite its own report showing more people support LTNs than oppose them

Rishi Sunak’s Government was previously accused of attempting to bury the report which shows that LTNs have proven to be popular and largely effective

“At the end of the year we’ll have a fantastic bit of road”: Councillor cools criticism of “utter waste of time and money” cycle lane “making it impossible for motorists to move around freely”

The £1.7 million scheme has come in for criticism from a Conservative councillor and some outspoken locals, the one-year construction length causing frustration

Cyclists fed up with “ridiculous” lamppost blocking busy cycle lane for five months

Frustrations have led to a "Give Back This Space" sign being placed on the "clearly dangerous" pole at the intersection of three bike lanes, the council having said it was to be removed months ago

Government tried to bury report which found that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are effective and popular

The official report, ordered by Rishi Sunak in an attempt to stop LTNs being installed by councils, concluded that the schemes are “effective in… reducing traffic volumes within their zones while adverse impacts on boundary roads appear to be limited”

“I’ve seen children hit by a bus and they’ve bounced up and asked for a milkshake”: Active travel campaigners blast councillor’s “reckless, flippant” road safety comments during 20mph debate

“He was very emphatic that if a child is hit at 30mph, they will die. They don’t,” Conservative councillor Bobbie Dove, who also supported an attempt to reopen a controversial rat run, said

Ourselves Alone (in a car): Sinn Féin councillor claims “crazy” cycle lanes are making roads more dangerous – and are designed for a “privileged” minority

Another councillor argued that bike lanes were “causing crashes” and confusion, while increasing emissions – but one Green politician said “we need to stop concentrating on how a car gets around the place”

Police vow to clamp down on “unacceptable” drivers flouting bus gates and putting vulnerable road users at risk, after child knocked off bike by motorist in low traffic neighbourhood

The decision to undertake “random and unpredictable enforcement” at the bus gate has been welcomed by campaigners, who last month acted as “human bollards” to enforce the closure

“Others have promised and failed”: Controversial cycle lane becomes battleground for rival mayors

As one local mayor made removing the cycle lane a pledge ahead of an election in May, another mayor elected for a nearby town last year has penned an open letter to residents claiming it was his "pressure" that will lead to its removal

Cycling group’s “real concern” over “minor lake” and huge puddles on city cycle lanes

"Poorly maintained and neglected infrastructure discourages people from using active travel"

“Benefit of removing barriers far outweighs anti-social motorbike behaviour”: Cyclist calls for removal of barriers from cycle paths for greater accessibility

“They're not preventing the motorbike use where it is prevailing, but what they are doing is preventing people who have adapted bikes, mobility aids, prams and other legitimate uses from accessing what is rightfully a community path”

“Any road which isn’t safe for pedestrians and cyclists should be 20mph”: Cycling Rebellion says speed limit plan “doesn’t go far enough”, as council urged to “be brave” and introduce default 20mph zones

Council officers have claimed that a blanket 20mph limit on residential roads will cost £300m to implement – but campaigners say it “feels silly to halt progress this much”

Brighton & Hove City Council rejects Tory demand for five-fold increase in cycle hangar fees

Conservative councillors claimed subsidy for bike parking facilities would be better spent on frontline services.

Cyclists welcome 24-mile cycleway along HS2 as West Midlands mayor aims to enable cycling and walking as “natural first choice for short journeys”

The construction roads and maintenance pathways of HS2 are to be repurposed for a “continuous, high-quality active travel route”

Safety works on “optical illusion” cycle lane imminent after more than 100 trip incidents

"This mitigation should make the change in levels clearer to pedestrians and prevent further trips and falls."

Cycle lanes grow in popularity once they are installed, study finds – but policymakers warned that “paternalistic” promotion of active travel schemes heightens opposition

The report called on policymakers to “pre-bunk common misconceptions” about cycle lanes, while noting the failure to “join the dots” between active travel projects and climate action

MP opposes plan to improve cyclist safety at “one of the most dangerous junctions” — because “main beneficiaries” will be non-local cyclists “looking to cycle in a straight line”

Transport for London proposed the improvements after 59 people, including 14 cyclists and pedestrians, were injured in collisions at the roundabout in the last three years

“Human bollards” step in to enforce road closure after “child knocked off bike” by motorist and cyclist reversed into

With the signs at the bus gate vandalised, campaigners say drivers were accessing the restricted access road "with impunity", the situation outside a local school returning to "being terrible again"

How to stop pavement parking? “Install bike racks”, say active travel campaigners

The Greater Cambridge Partnership has said that it is willing to consider the idea in the future

“No wonder cyclists use roads instead”: Locals slam “higgledy-piggledy” cycle lane with barriers and misaligned separators

“Imagine walking away from that and thinking ‘job well done’,” said one person, with many others describing the infrastructure as “wonky” and “crooked”

“You’ve yet again ignored cycles as mobility aids”: Former GB News producer called “ableist” after staging backlash over Hammersmith Bridge reopening to cyclists

Charlotte Gill claimed that London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman is turning the city into “CycleLand for himself and his cycle freak friends”

“Where are the cyclists?” Councillor questions “low numbers” on cycle superhighway – but Chris Boardman praises “exemplar” of cycling infrastructure

“The infrastructure has to be there for the journeys people are going to make. In Holland it took decades to create the cycling culture it has now,” the local authority’s transport director said in response to concerns over the cycleway’s use

“Waste of money” cycle lane branded an “annoyance and inconvenience” for adding 570 metres to motorists’ journeys, as council approves extension plans

Residents told the council that the £1 million ringfenced for the project would be better spent on town centre parking or repairing potholes – despite the funding being awarded by Active Travel England

Under-fire council admits “discriminatory” cycle route barriers were installed without equality impact assessment

"The real issue is that the barriers discriminate against people who use many types of cycle"

Cyclist threatened with €13 million fine and two years in prison over bike shed, forcing her to give up cycling

Siobhán Kelly was accused of “unauthorised development” by Dublin City Council after installing a small shed used to store bikes and her mother’s wheelchair in her front garden

“It would be sacrilege to take up the grass verges,” claims local, as cycle lane plan with “enormous benefits for the community” met with vocal opposition

Plenty have spoken in support of the project too, the council's head of highways and transportation suggesting it will encourage people to replace car journeys with active travel and "provide a safe route for cyclists, including schoolchildren"

Hammersmith Bridge to reopen to bike riders with two-way cycle lane – but only for 10 weeks

Damage caused by boat carrying West Ham United fans to match leads to pause in stabilisation works on bridge where riders currently have to push their bikes across