Freetown Way will return to two lanes of traffic
GREEN LIGHT TO MOVE CYCLE LANES TO PAVEMENT
FREETOWN Way will return to two lanes of traffic, but not until next year.
Hull City Council has announced it has secured government funding to scrap controversial on-road cycle lanes, which were installed in July 2020. They will be replaced with “off-road” cycle lanes on the pavements.
However, the reconfigured road will not be completed until well into the new year. Work is set to start early in 2024, following further design work later this year.
The segregated cycle lanes, which reduced Freetown Way to a single lane for motorists in each direction, were funded by the Government as part of a roll-out of an Active Travel scheme during the early part of the pandemic. The idea was to encourage more cycling and walking, as well as bus use.
The funding was conditional on schemes being implemented immediately, allowing little or no time for consultation. However, since the changes were made on Freetown Way, lengthy traffic queues have become a regular sight along the route, particularly on the approach to the junction with Ferensway, Beverley Road and Spring Bank.
Under the new plans, the footpaths on both sides of Freetown Way are set to be widened between Witham and Blundell’s Corner to accommodate a safe, off-road cycle path. Two lanes of traffic will be reinstated in both directions by removing the bollards and the current cycle lanes.
Cllr Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, said: “We have been working for the last year to secure funding for new cycle infrastructure that will allow us to also restore two lanes of traffic on Freetown Way and it’s great news that we have been successful.
“This is a win-win for everyone – two lanes of traffic to keep the city’s roads moving and safe, off-road cycle paths to encourage cycling.
“When we asked residents’ views last summer in our major Traffic and Transport Survey, we promised to listen to what residents told us. Now we’re taking action to do what residents have asked.”
This scheme is one of several in Hull benefitting from an £8.8m grant from the Government’s Active Travel England fund. Bids were submitted by Hull City Council in January this year.
Money will also be spent on improvements to Preston Road, a new crossing on Anlaby Park Road, improvements to the Foredyke Stream and Trans Pennine Trail cycle routes, and designs for a new off-road cycle route in Clough Road.