Cycleway wil improve health and ease traffic problems, says minister

THE Binley Cycleway is near completion, and Jesse Norman, the Minister for Transport visited Coventry on Wednesday to see its development which is part of the Government’s £200m scheme to improve walking and cycling routes across the country.

The 6km cycling route will run from the east of the city which will allow people to travel safely by bike from the city centre to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire via the Binley Business Park. The path will also connect to historic sites like Charterhouse and transform an old railway line.

The cycleway will provide a range of sustainable travel options in the city, enabling more people to cycle. The West Midlands Combined Authority approved £8.6m to fund the Binley Cycleway, which is set to be completed by end of June.

The £200m Government funding is expected to bring various environbenefits mental like promoting healthy travel, reducing emissions, improving air quality and transforming the school run.

The funding is expected to generate up to 16 million more cycling and walking trips annual by building rural connections to create 120 miles of cycling track and help more than 35,000 children on their school journeys.

Mr Norman said the Binley Cycleway is “fantastic” and is “going to be amazing when its finished”.

“When people cycle, it’s good for their health and the impact on the environment as you’re not producing much carbon, hence good for the quality of our air. Putting a cycle lane into a community helps to support local economic growth which we are starting to see in many schemes, and I am sure we will see that here in Coventry.” he said.

He added cycling and active travel is an important part to giving people alternatives and choices for their journeys in the city: “E-bikes are proving to be so popular here in Coventry, and there’s plenty of choices to get out of cars and take shorter journeys that are better for the people, the community and the local economy.”

Mr Norman hopes the cycling route will help to improve the local high streets in Coventry and said: “It’s already proven to work on high streets as we have seen an evolution where cars, biking and walking work together. This has an effect of breathing new life into areas that have been struggling because they are stuck on main roads, and there is plenty of opportunity in Coventry to make this happen.”

When people cycle it’s good for their health and the impact on the environment... Jesse Norman