INVESTMENT IN WALKING AND CYCLING IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE REACHES £87 MILLION

Published 18 March 2021 at 10:17am

An additional £2.24million will be invested in walking and cycling routes across South Yorkshire, taking the total amount of money invested in active travel between 2020 and 2023 to more than £87million.

Mayor Dan Jarvis and South Yorkshire’s leaders will approve the spending as part of a £860million investment package to drive economic renewal and create a stronger, greener and fairer region, including £34.1 million investment in infrastructure, flooding, buses and revitalising town and city centres.

Plans include the creation of five active neighbourhoods across the region. Active neighbourhoods are established when roads are closed to motor traffic to prevent rat-running, reduce air and noise pollution, and make streets safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling.

Under the plans Thorne (Doncaster), Goldthorpe (Barnsley), Broom (Rotherham) and Nether Edge and Crookes (Sheffield) will all become active neighbourhoods. Across the country active neighbourhoods, also known as low-traffic neighbourhoods, have been linked to reduced vacancy rates on high streets and increased life expectancy for residents living nearby.

Mayor of the Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis said: “We are building a transport system fit for the 21^st century and this additional investment will help us get people moving around South Yorkshire better on foot and by bike, whether that be to work, school or the shops.

“Building safe routes for walking and cycling, as well as creating active neighbourhoods, will create a greener South Yorkshire where people can travel across the region efficiently and sustainably.

“These schemes will help make our ambitious plans to build more than 1000km of active travel routes, 800 safe crossings and 320km2 of active neighbourhoods a reality.”

More than £5.46million was secured for active travel by Mayor Jarvis during the pandemic. This additional £2.24million will help establish permanent schemes that will benefit communities beyond Covid and enable more people to walk or cycle.

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner, said: “Over the past year our health has been in the spotlight like never before, and when lockdowns have been imposed the opportunity to get out for daily exercise has been a lifeline of normality for almost everyone. It has been heartening to see people enjoy riding their bikes or getting out on a walk, which has further raised the need for more accessible and safe places to be delivered.

“This investment comes at exactly the right time and will enable us to build safe active travel routes that get people to the places they need to be without the need for a car, and not just for daily exercise but for all their short everyday journeys too. Travelling by non-motorised means has far reaching health benefits, reduces harmful emissions and makes our streets feel safer.

“Our plans for active travel in South Yorkshire are ambitious because they need to be. The region has ambitious targets for decarbonisation and even before the covid-19 pandemic, there was a crisis of inactivity. By building active travel routes that enable short journeys to be done by non-motorised means, we can build physical activity back into people’s lives, breathe life back into local communities and support South Yorkshire’s recovery from one of the most testing years anyone has faced.”

Schemes include:

• Improved active travel links between Stairfoot and Ardsley and Goldthorpe in Barnsley
• New active travel routes between Conisbrough and Warmsworth in Doncaster
• Improvements to the Sheaf Valley route in Sheffield
• Improvements to the Broom Road/Wellgate route in Rotherham
• Improved links between Elsecar and the Trans Pennine Trail in Barnsley

READ MORE: MAYOR ANNOUNCES TRANSFORMATIONAL £860M ‘NEW DEAL’ FOR SOUTH YORKSHIRE