Plans to enhance a cycling and walking route and create two new active travel schemes are set to be progressed.
At a meeting of the authority’s Cabinet at Sand Martin House today, members agreed that the council will enter into a Grant Funding Agreement with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) worth £1,138,537.
The funds will be split between designing and delivering the following projects; Bourges Boulevard Cycleway, Peterborough Station Quarter Citylink and Stanham Way Cycleway, with work being carried out by the M group, the council’s highways partner.
Councillor Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: “I am delighted that these vital projects can now move forwards and I look forward to seeing them progressed. Each scheme will have positive impacts on the environment enabling people to travel via active and sustainable modes.
“We remain fully committed to providing quality walking and cycling routes across Peterborough so that more people can travel to work, education or for leisure in a sustainable way, tying in with our ongoing work to reduce carbon emissions.”
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow said: "This Combined Authority funding will ensure we can deliver much-needed upgrades to cycling and walking in the city and continue the momentum on the Peterborough Station Quarter. By improving choice and accessibility for locals and visitors, we can help make Peterborough healthier, wealthier and happier.”
Following the approval from Cabinet, work to upgrade the existing Bourges Boulevard cycleway route between Bright Street and Junction 18 / Rhubarb Bridge, will now be developed. A total of £663,537 will be used to fund a section(s) of the cycleway.
Further design work will be undertaken before determining which section(s) should be upgraded. The council aims to upgrade the entire route in future, subject to funding being secured.
New footways and cycleways will be created as part of the Peterborough Station Quarter project, which is set to transform the area. The scheme has secured £48 million in Levelling Up Fund as well as £1.5m of Towns Fund to create western station access, improve the existing eastern station building and enhance the public realm.
The project’s first phase, known as the Citylink scheme, will get under way in 2026. This work will focus on the Queensgate roundabout and surrounding area and includes the removal of two subways and the creation of new footways and cycleways. A total of £200,000 of Active Travel Funding will be used to match fund the walking and cycling elements of the Citylink package.
Meanwhile, work to improve and open up an old, existing bridge and provide pedestrian and cycle connections from Crown Lakes Country Park into Stanham Way will also be progressed.
The council has already secured £106,000 in s106 funding for this project. Construction costs are estimated to be £275,000, but further work will be undertaken on the existing bridge to understand what measures will be required to safely open it.
To read the Cabinet meeting agenda visit the council's website.