Dame Caroline Spelman MP has welcomed the news that Solihull Council has been successful in its bid for £.4.47 million of funds from central Government to make cycling more accessible and safe for local people.
The funding, which has been awarded through the National Productivity Investment Fund, will be spent as part of a strategic plan to ease congestion on important local routes and improve road safety in order to reduce the number of accidents involving motorists and bikes.
In total, £7.5 million will be spent through this scheme which forms as part of the Council’s approved Transport Strategy which was published in 2016.
Dame Caroline Spelman said:
“With a family of keen cyclists, I know how important it is that we make our roads safer and more accessible to those who chose to travel by push-bike.
To that end, I am proud that funding for cycling has more than tripled under this Government and welcome this latest package of investment in our area. Together with funding from Solihull Council, this money will serve to make cycling a safer, more accessible mode of transport for everyone in our borough and help tackle the issue of congestion on our roads”.
Earlier this year the Government published a ‘Cycling and Walking Strategy’ - the first of its kind, as part of a £1.2 billion programme to double the number of people cycling, reduce cycling accidents and encouraging more parents to walk to and from school with their children each day.
Speaking after the publication of the Governments cycling strategy, Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Cycling UK, said:
“Cycling is a fantastic transport choice, helping you to stay active and healthy as part of your daily routine, and saving you money on travel costs. Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival will help tens of thousands of people back into cycling by getting your bikes checked over, fixed up and back into use. We are grateful to the Department for Transport for supporting this initiative for this, our third year of national activities to help get more of the UK cycling more often”.