PEOPLE have been invited to comment on plans for a multi-million-pound cycleway from Bradford city centre to the west of the city.
The consultation on the West Bradford cycle superhighway comes shortly after the announcement that the scheme is going to be scaled back.
Originally the scheme was expected to cost £17.5m, and create segregated cycling facilities along the Sunbridge Road, City Road and Thornton Road corridor from the city centre to Thornton Village.
It was one of four “Transforming Cities Fund” projects for Bradford that are being funded by Government.
The “first phase” will now only extend to the junction of Thornton Road/Cemetery Road/Allerton Road.
A second phase, which will continue to Thornton, is still planned, but no funding has yet been identified for this stretch.
The project had already been altered after the first wave of consultations last year.
A “Northern spur” of the route that would lead to BRI has been dropped, partly due to it being too steep to comply with cycleway standards.
And the city centre stretch of the route will now mostly run down Sunbridge Road and City Road before reaching Thornton Road. Originally the city centre stretch was planned to run entirely down Thornton Road, but the new consultation says people taking part in the previous consultation “Were worried that the speed and volume of traffic on Thornton Road’s narrower sections would make cycling difficult along the new cycle way.”
Referring to the Sunbridge Road route, which will begin at the junction with Barry Street, it says: “This would be a quieter route into and out of the city centre with a segregated cycleway.”
The work would involve on street parking being removed from both sides of much of Sunbridge Road, and one side of Thornton Road.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: "Thornton Road is one of the city’s major transport routes, with over 23,000 vehicles driving along it every day. It provides a connection from the city centre to residential, education, and employment areas in west Bradford, but isn’t a popular option for people who want to walk or cycle.
“The cycle route would provide a missing link in the strategic cycling network across the district and we think that a significant number of people would choose to walk and cycle along this route if we make it easier and safer to do so.”
The consultation runs until October 11.
Members of the public can have their say by visiting https://www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/thorntoncycle
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