West Yorkshire Combined Authority is developing Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) to improve walking, wheeling and cycling routes across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.
A Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) is a long-term, evidence-based plan for improving cycling and walking routes in a specific area. LCWIPs identify good routes, spot barriers and prioritise infrastructure improvements to guide future investment and support funding bids.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has worked with local authorities across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield to develop LCWIPs for each district. We have developed proposals for the initial pilot phases across all five areas, in line with national guidance from Active Travel England and our goals under our West Yorkshire Transport Plans.
LCWIPs are a new approach to improving walking and cycling within local areas.
Many short journeys (such as to the local shop) could be undertaken entirely on foot or by bike, whilst longer journeys (such as by bus or train) involve walking or cycling to or from the bus stop or station.
In 2017 the Government published its first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This included guidance to help local authorities identify cycling and walking improvements through the development of LCWIPs.
LCWIPs help local authorities take a long-term, evidence-based approach to developing walking and cycling networks that connect places that people need to get to, whether for work, education, or leisure. They are based on existing and future travel patterns and consider current barriers to walking and cycling.
Each LCWIP includes:
Our West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan, sets out policies to provide high-quality walking and cycling routes. It also includes goals to increase the number of trips made by bike by 300% and by walking by 10%, by 2027.
We have already made significant investments in improving our walking and cycling networks and supporting behaviour change activities through:
Development of LCWIPs will inform future investment in provision for walking and cycling, forming part of a future connectivity pipeline across all modes of transport serving West Yorkshire enabling more people to walk and cycle for everyday journeys and helping us to meet our targets and deliver our policies.
We are developing these plans in advance of funding being secured to construct all the improvements identified through this work. However, having LCWIPs in place will help us decide what improvements to make and will help us make the case to Government for future investment in walking and cycling in our region.
In 2019 we completed a round of public engagement to help develop the LCWIPs. Visit our Your Voice page for more information about the feedback received.
Since then, we have completed Phase One of work, which covers specific geographic areas in West Yorkshire.
We are currently planning the next phase of work, to ensure that the LCWIPs provide wider geographic coverage across the region.
