AS regular readers are probably aware, I need little encouragement to hop on a bike.
So I’m pleased to hear that cycling routes and facilities into Liverpool city centre are to be improved thanks to a £640,000 investment from the Northwest European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Liverpool Cycling Strategy project, led by Liverpool City Council, aims to encourage people to journey by bike through investment in the cycle route network in the city.
The project involves the construction of seven new cycle routes; completion of cycle facilities such as missing links with existing cycle routes; and proactive promotion of cycling to residents, schools and businesses.
The project aims to reduce journey times for cyclists, improve links with public transport, provide a viable alternative to car use and improve access to key sites of employment, education and main public transport interchanges.
Steven Broomhead, the chief executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) reckons that: “Encouraging cycling as a mode of transport around the city has a number of benefits, reducing pressure on the transport network, improving health levels and supporting the region’s climate change agenda.
“This investment will help to promote cycling as an affordable, convenient and environmentally friendly way of getting around through improving Liverpool’s cycling infrastructure. It will also make it easier and safer for people to travel by bike and encourage more people to consider cycling as a viable alternative to car use for local journeys.”
I only hope that we don’t see these half-hearted cycle routes that blight cyclists’ lives. Just when you think you have a useful cycle lane…it disappears, usually when you most need it and are squeezed dangerously by cars and vans.
For small businesses, cycling can be a great way of keeping staff fit; and if used for business travel, can be reclaimed at the rate of 20p per mile under the tax-free approved mileage allowance payments (AMAPs) scheme.
See our free download on AMAPs in our Total Card Knowledge Bank section.
£640,000 investment to improve cycling
