Cycle lanes work starts
£500,000 SCHEME FOR CITY’S INNER RING ROAD
A £500,000 project to put cycle lanes next to a stretch of Leicester’s inner ring road is under way.
Highways engineers said it will take nine months to put segregated two-way cycle tracks in St Matthew’s Way, between Belgrave Gate and Humberstone Gate, and on part of St George’s Way, between Humberstone Road and Burton Street.
The city council said its scheme will make the area safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
Some stretches of footpath will be remodelled to allow shared use by cyclists and pedestrians, linking the new cycle tracks to main crossings.
Key side roads will be raised at their junctions with the inner ring road to provide safer crossings for cyclists and pedestrians.
No lanes of traffic will be lost. The council said there will be some traffic disruption, but work will be carried out in phases to reduce this.
Some lane restrictions will be required during off-peak hours.
Pedestrian diversions will be also required when footpaths are closed.
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “Improving the inner ring road for pedestrians and cyclists is an extension of our Connecting Leicester programme, which has helped transform the city centre with safer and more attractive routes.
“As part of our successful bid to the Transforming Cities Fund, we plan to extend that work to create safe links on key radial routes and into outlying neighbourhoods.
“Making the inner ring road more people-friendly is a vital part of that and will play an important role in encouraging more people to make the shift from the car to healthier and more sustainable forms of transport like cycling and walking.”
Work is expected to be complete by next summer, but there will be a month-long break in work during December as part of the Christmas roadwork moratorium.