£500k grant to help walk or cycle to work in pandemic
STOCKPORT Council is to receive a grant of up to £500,000 to help it deliver proposals to make it easier for people to walk and cycle during the coronavirus pandemic.
The current health crisis has provided a need to make it as easy as possible for residents to walk and cycle safely while also respecting the Government’s social distancing guidelines.
The money has come from TfGMs #SaferStreetsSaveLives campaign, which was launched in Greater Manchester last week and aims to create enhanced shared spaces for pedestrians and cyclists across the city-region.
Council officers in Stockport have been working closely with businesses and residents’ groups, including our Walk Ride groups, to identify issues in their area.
The council will then review all the identified issues and develop solutions, which can then be delivered.
Coun David Meller, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “Stockport is passionate about walking and cycling and we have a real opportunity to make our roads safer not just for this unprecedented period, but for the future as well.
“We have been in contact with our walking and cycling groups across the borough to get their thoughts on what we can do.
“In fact, WalkRideGM are helping us with our work. They’ve created a map of Stockport that lets you pinpoint the areas you think we need to look at. They’ll then provide the data, all anonymised, to us.
“This is true, bottom-up work that I want as many people as possible to get involved with. This data will help us in identifying those particular areas of the borough where measures to support walking and cycling safely are needed.
“We are aware there are some areas of the borough that are easier than others to implement these new measures, but with the discussions we are having, we are very hopeful that some of the ideas brought to us can be installed as soon as possible.”
In addition to the Transport for Greater Manchester-led #SafeStreetsSaveLives campaign, on May 9 the Government announced a £2bn funding packing for walking and cycling in the UK.
Any Stockport business or resident who is aware of a footpath or road where social distancing is proving to be a challenge, should forward the details to walkcycle@stockport.gov. uk