£7 million funding for cycle safety

The Department for Transport has announced that eight cities will benefit from a £7 million government investment in projects to improve road safety, helping create more bike-friendly areas.

As part of the Department for Transport’s cycle safety review, the cities will be given the chance to bid for an additional £6.5 million of funding to trial new schemes which improve safety, with the remaining £500,000 set aside to support Cycling UK’s Big bike revival — an initiative to help more people cycle safely and confidently across the country.

The eight cycle city ambition cities are: Bristol, Leeds, Cambridge, Birmingham, Norwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford.

Cycling Minister Jesse Norman said: “Everyone should be able to take advantage of the huge health and environmental benefits of cycling. While Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, we want to encourage more people to take up cycling. This funding, as part of our overall cycling and walking strategy, will help local councils to make their roads safer for everyone.”