PART of Leicester’s busy Anstey Lane will be getting a new cycle track and better footpaths as part of a major £1million improvement scheme.
Leicester City Council will begin work on Monday 14 June to improve footpaths and create a safer cycle route on the stretch of Anstey Lane between Buckminster Road and Darenth Drive. The improvements will then link to existing facilities at English Martyrs School and onto Krefeld Way.
This first phase of work is expected to take around six months to complete and will require a temporary one-way road closure of the inbound stretch of Anstey Lane, from Krefeld Way to Buckminster Road.
A clearly signed diversion route will direct inbound traffic along the A563 Outer Ring Road onto Groby Road and Blackbird Road.
Local access will be maintained for residents and businesses, with some localised diversions in place.
The work is part of a wider scheme to encourage more people to make the shift to walking, cycling and public transport.
Plans to introduce an experimental closure of Buckminster Road, and for the introduction of a short stretch of new bus lane on Anstey Lane, are in the final stages. More information will be publicised through the statutory process in the coming weeks.
The work will be paid for through the Transforming Cities Fund, a major £80million citywide programme of investment in sustainable transport, backed by £40million of Government cash from the Department for Transport. The ambitious package of works will focus on major sustainable transport improvements to provide attractive choices for people to get to work, education, shops and other local facilities to help support the city’s growth and deliver on the council’s climate emergency, air quality and health living commitments.
Deputy City Mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, who leads on transportation and environment, said: “Our ambitious Transforming Cities Fund programme represents a big step forward for Leicester. It will provide attractive, sustainable travel choices for people, helping to deliver a greener solution for the future growth of our city and its economy. It will also play a crucial part in supporting our work around the climate emergency and air quality improvements.
“The Anstey Lane scheme is just one part of a much bigger, citywide programme and shows how this major new investment is helping us to extend the multi-million pound improvements we have already made in and around the city centre out into our local neighbourhoods.”
The Transforming Cities Fund programme in Leicester will include the development of new bus priority corridors linking the city centre to local neighbourhoods and suburbs along with the continued development of a network of high-quality cycling and walking routes throughout the city, building on the success of the Connecting Leicester programme.
It has also seen the introduction of electric buses onto the park and Ride service and a new citywide electric bike hire scheme in partnership with Santander.
To find out more, or to view the plans for Anstey Lane in more detail, visit www.leicester.gov.uk/connectingleicester
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