A people-powered future
In May 2019 the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority declared a Climate Emergency. We understand the pressing threat of Climate Change and the urgent need to act. Enabling people to get out of their cars and walk and cycle more, particularly for short journeys is an important part of this step change for the City Region.
People riding bikes and walking played a crucial role in our past and will play an important role in our future. Cycling and walking will shape how we get about in our region. It’s good for our health, for air quality and our environment, for the local economy, and for making our streets more liveable. People living in the city region understand this. Our own research shows that 71% of residents support the creation of safe separated cycling and walking routes to encourage more people to ride bikes and walk more often, particularly for shorter journeys.
Why are we developing a local plan for cycling and walking?
In 2017 the UK Government published its first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
The Strategy sets out the ambition to make walking and cycling the natural choices for shorter journeys. Realising this ambition will take sustained investment in cycling and walking infrastructure, and partnership working with local bodies, the third sector and the wider public and private sector to build a local commitment.
The Strategy supports the transformation of local areas: change which will tackle congestion, change which will extend opportunity to improve physical and mental health and change which will support the local economy.
It will enable a long-term approach to developing local cycling and walking networks, over what will at least a 10 year period, and help to increase the number of trips made by bike or on foot.
How will the plan work?
Two-thirds of all journeys taken in the Liverpool City Region are less than 5km, but right now, around 50% of these are still taken by car.
The LCWIP sets out a high level approach for how we can encourage more people to take these journeys on foot or by bike by creating a safe, integrated and well linked network of walking and cycling routes.
A great deal of research has helped inform the development of the plan. The LCWIP outlines 31 key routes needed across the city region to help more cycling and walking.
These routes will be complemented by a network of local cycling and walking routes, including residential streets and routes through green spaces which will help make active travel more attractive.
Phase 1
• Liverpool City Centre – Speke upgraded cycleway (6.8km upgraded cycleway)
• Seaforth – Southport (15km new and upgraded cycleway)
• Prescot – Runcorn (7.4km new and upgraded offroad cycleway)
• Liverpool Loop Line (6km upgraded cycleway)
• St Helens (6.3km new and upgraded cycleway)
• Leasowe – Seacombe Ferry Terminal (3.7km new cycleway)
• Runcorn Links (new and upgraded cycleway)
Phase 2
• New Brighton – Birkenhead
• Runcorn – Daresbury
• East Lancashire Road (Haydock to Liverpool)
Phase 3
• Liverpool City Centre to Childwall
• Knowsley Cycle Route (Kirkby to Speke)
• Birkenhead to Hooton
• Bootle to Liverpool City Centre
• St Helens to Widnes
• Runcorn Busway
Liverpool City Region Green Sustainable Travel Corridors Project
The Liverpool City Region Green Sustainable Travel Corridors Project (also called LCR SUD) is a £17.3m project (of which £8.65m is from ERDF) until June 2023 and part of a Liverpool City Region-wide initiative to encourage more cycling and walking.
The scheme aims to deliver a series of cycling and walking upgrades on key corridors, linking housing sites in the Region with employment and training opportunities, to make up the LCR Strategic Cycling and Walking Network. It aims to introduce clearly defined, direct cycleways to utilise off-road, segregated routes in order to encourage increased uptake in cycling and walking in the City Region. It is providing enhancement of green infrastructure, such as the planting of street trees and green walls and significant areas of biodiversity sites will be upgraded as part of the package of measures, including new areas of woodland and wildflower planting.
Liverpool John Moores University delivers complementary measures to promote and incentivise the walking and cycling infrastructure. This has been through sensors and the introduction of a mobile app, promoting the newly introduced cycling and walking network and the biodiversity upgrades and ensures that users have one place to find information and to plan their cycling and walking journeys.
The scheme is being delivered by a consortium of partners across the Liverpool City Region:
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Liverpool City Council
- Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
- St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
- Halton Borough Council
- Wirral Borough Council
- Merseytravel
- Liverpool Combined Authority
The Liverpool City Region Green Sustainable Travel Corridors (GSTC) project is receiving up to £8.65million of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.
Northern Powerhouse
The Northern Powerhouse is a key aspect of this Government’s approach to addressing the productivity gap in the North and ensuring a stronger, more sustainable economy for all parts of the UK.
Alongside over €1.5 billion of European Regional Development Fund support for businesses and communities across the North, the government has awarded £3.4 billion in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse.
