Greater Manchester to invest a further £40.7m in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure

By Transport for Greater Manchester | 19 May 2023 | TAGS: active travel, walking

Greater Manchester is set to invest a further £40.7m in its walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure as it progresses with its delivery of the largest active travel network in the country.

Active Travel England (ATE) has today confirmed it will award £23.7m to the city-region as part of a wider boost to active travel funding across the country, with Greater Manchester’s sum the largest regional settlement in the UK.

In addition, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is due to approve the release of £17m from the Mayor’s Challenge Fund for four major active travel schemes when leaders meet next week.

Both sources of investment will enable Greater Manchester to progress with its long-term ambition to create the largest walking, wheeling and cycling network in the country, and further unlock the health and environmental benefits of active travel for people across the city-region.

Dame Sarah Storey, Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner, said: 

“The news of this funding award from Active Travel England is a sign of confidence in the plan we have here in Greater Manchester for the development of our Active Travel network.

“It's vital that we are linking to the wider public transport system and building a Bee Network that provides genuine journey choice for residents and visitors alike.

“The new funding, as well as the funding drawn down from the Mayor's Challenge Fund, will be used across all 10 boroughs on a variety of infrastructure projects. The key focus remains that a universally accessible network is the aim and so the projects vary from segregated and accessible paths and crossings, to secure cycle storage and upgraded junctions.

“I am looking forward to seeing all of the funded projects come to life as they will further add to the high quality, comprehensive network of active travel routes that are needed across the region."

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, added:

“The scale of our ambition in transforming how people get around is huge; with a target for one million extra journeys being made on public transport or by bike or foot every day by 2040.

“To meet this challenge head-on we are delivering our transformational Bee Network, which will make travelling easier, cheaper and more accessible and connect our trams and buses – and ultimately local train services – with the largest cycling, walking and wheeling network anywhere in the UK.

“It is great news that all 10 of our boroughs will benefit from more than £40m being invested in active travel schemes across the city-region.”

This article is an extract of the full press release from Transport for Greater Manchester which can be viewed here.