Greater Manchester gets £20m for walking and cycling upgrades

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Greater Manchester will get more than £20m to spend on walking and cycling improvements. Local transport minister Simon Lightwood MP announced the £20.8m pot of cash during a visit to Stockport on February 12, where he said cyclists and pedestrians across the country have had to put up with “really poor infrastructure" for too long.

Part of a £291m national package from Active Travel England, the money will be used to build ‘high quality cycle tracks and footpaths’ as well as safer crossings and junctions for ‘all road users’.

Vernon Everitt, transport commissioner for Greater Manchester, said the cash will make “a very meaningful difference” in the region, alongside public transport improvements through the Bee Network.

He added: “Sixty percent of the journeys that are made in Greater Manchester are made as a car driver or a car passenger, and many of those are essential because people don’t have an alternative. “But a number of those journeys you could convert into public transport or active travel, particularly the shorter journeys." Mr Everitt said the money would be used to improve walking facilities and connections to public transport, build more segregated cycle lanes, support school streets, and reduce road danger.