A pop-up city centre cycle lane is set to be made permanent and two new connections to extend the city’s cycle network are also to move ahead.
The temporary lane, which links Coventry city centre at Upper Well Street to the Canal Basin at Leicester Row, was introduced in 2020 in a bid to improve active travel. The route goes under the Ring Road near the Radford Road roundabout. A more direct route across the canal basin bridge is not possible because the bridge is too narrow.
Plans to make this route permanent were approved by the Cabinet Member for City Services on 15th June. Road works will be undertaken using the Council’s existing powers to create a two-lane cycleway with signage so that the existing plastic barriers can be removed.
Funding for the scheme will come from the government’s Active Travel Fund.
Other cycling schemes approved as part of the report include changing part of the footway from Draper’s Field to Leicester Row into a cycle track and placing a designated cycle track across Greyfriars Green from Friargate to Warwick Row.
These improvements have been proposed to help visitors to Coventry get access to 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games venues via the canal towpath. They are part of a route linking Coventry’s station to the canal towpath for the Commonwealth Games.
“The works will have a positive impact on the environment by improving the cycle network… making cycling a more attractive travel option for local journeys,” officers said in the report.