£275k to be spent on widening busy cycling, walking route into city
WORK TO MAKE SOCIAL DISTANCING EASIER
ONE of the busiest cycling and pedestrian routes in Leicester is being widened to make it easier for people who use it to socially distance.
About £275,000 is being spent to increase the width of the Great Central Way between Evesham Road, by Aylestone Meadows, and Bede Park near the De Montfort University Campus.
The former railway line is now a path about 2.5 metres across but Leicester City Council says where possible an extra 50 centimetres or a metre will be added to the width.
Workers have started the project, which will be completed in phases over the next four months, near Evesham Road and Evelyn Drive, with some tree felling and the shifting of lamp-posts.
The next stages will focus on improving the section from Marlow Road and Upperton Road, followed by a final phase from Upperton Road to Bede Park.
Some temporary footpath closures are taking place during the works, with diversions in place.
The route provides an alternative way into and out of the city to the often traffic-logged Narborough
Road and Aylestone Road for people who are able to travel by bike or on foot rather than in a car.
It connects the city centre to residential parts of the city and is used by people in Rowley Fields and Braunstone, and further afield places such as Braunstone Town and Glen Parva.
The council says the work will enable cyclists and pedestrians using the route to continue to do so safely while still social distancing.
Work will also be done to tackle four areas of Japanese knotweed along the route.
The scheme will cost about £275,000 and is being paid for from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund.
Councillor Adam Clarke, deputy city mayor responsible for environment and transportation, said: “The path of the old Great Central Way train line is a very well-used route for cycling and walking, and connects routes through the city centre and beyond into the county.
“This work will help ensure that the path is cleared of encroaching vegetation and made wide enough to ensure it remains an attractive and safe route to use on foot or by bike, with room to enable social distancing.
“The phased work will mean diversions are in place to ensure the route remains open and accessible throughout.”