Mayor of West Yorkshire welcomes multi-million-pound boost for cycling and walking

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, has welcomed £23.12 million to improve the cycling and walking network throughout the region.

Funding provided by Active Travel England will help build new cycle lanes in Leeds, as well as traffic-free paths in Wakefield and walking routes in Calderdale, in a bid to promote healthy travel, reduce emissions and grow the economy.

It comes as West Yorkshire has been recognised as one of the ‘Top Tier’ authorities in the country by Active Travel England, leading the way in providing cycling and walking opportunities for people across the region.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said: “We want to make West Yorkshire better-connected with a greener, simpler and cheaper transport network.

“Cycling, walking and wheeling have a vital role to play and it is fantastic that we’ve been recognised as one of the best places in the country to do that.  

“This additional investment helps us boost connections, grow our economy and tackle the climate emergency, but it’s important that no community is left out.”

Schemes to be delivered through this funding include new cycle lanes in Leeds City Centre, as well as traffic-free paths in Wakefield, which will provide attractive alternative choices for local journeys.

Further improvements will be made to the canal towpath network in West Yorkshire, including the Huddersfield Narrow Canal towpath between Slaithwaite and Marsden in Kirklees, and the Huddersfield Broad Canal between Aspley Marina and Cooper Bridge.

There will also be a West Yorkshire wide ‘Schools Streets’ programme with upgrades on walking and cycling routes to schools and key facilities across the region, including St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford.

This latest investment of £23.12 million was secured by the Combined Authority and local authority partners from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Active Travel Fund, following a submission to government, in February 2023.

Find out more about cycling and walking in West Yorkshire.