New plans to bring back Crescent Bridge cycle lane in Peterborough

There are new plans to re-introduce a new cycle lane on Crescent Bridge in Peterborough city centre.

The plans are part of the Station Quarter development, with works set to start on the development later this year.

The council is currently seeking funding for the cycle lane plans.

Cllr Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: “We are looking to continue the planned Thorpe Road Cycle route across Crescent Bridge into the city centre, this will also provide cycle and pedestrian access to the Station Quarter.

“This proposal is in its early stages and we are seeking funding for the design for both Thorpe Road and Crescent Bridge Cycle routes.”

The Thorpe Road Cycle Route will see a new cycleway run along Thorpe Wood and a section of Thorpe Road.

Earlier this year, Active Travel England gave a multi-million pound funding boost for the scheme.

It would not be the first time a cycle lane has been used on Crescent Bridge.

During the COVID pandemic, a pop-up cycle lane was installed near the Queensgate Roundabout.

The scheme, which started in August 2020, was welcomed by many cyclists, with one saying that before the introduction of the lane, they would actively avoid riding over the bridge – but the lane made it a ‘breeze’

Green Party councillor Nicola Day also welcomed the move at the time, saying ‘I have used the lanes myself many times and it feels far safer with the protected lane for cyclists both in terms of cycling beside the traffic and giving more space to walkers on the pavements.’

However, it was scrapped less than a year later, when it was revealed that on average 60 cyclists used the lane per day (making a combined 122 journeys on it) – however those figures were disputed, with it claimed that in some months there were more than 200 daily uses of the cycle lane.

There were calls for it to be re-instated – including from then Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson – but in October 2021, the city council said that there were no plans to do so.