The first phases of Barrow’s active travel scheme are nearing completion.
Westmorland and Furness Council said work to create a dedicated space for people to safely walk, wheel and cycle along Abbey Road has been progressing well.
New heritage street lighting columns are being installed as the final piece of work on phase one of the project at Ramsden Square, and phase two along Abbey Road to Bath Street and Dalkeith Street junctions is finished.
Once the lighting columns work is completed in early February, all the traffic management and barriers will be removed and people will be able to walk, wheel and cycle on these completed sections of the new active travel route.
The route – which when fully completed will run from Ramsden Square to the junction of Park Drive – has been shaped by the views of local residents, following a public consultation in 2023.
It was designed with minimal changes to existing traffic lanes, to avoid disruption to journey times for those travelling by motor vehicle, which was a clear request from respondents during the consultation.
New active travel lanes are being created within the existing wide pavements on both sides of Abbey Road, to fully separate cyclists from pedestrians and motorists.
The cycle lanes run behind the bus stops, with mini zebra crossings provided for pedestrians to access public transport.
To enhance safety and ease of movement, all junctions along the route are also being upgraded.
The newly completed phases one and two include features such as raised tables at side road junctions to help prioritise pedestrians and cyclists to provide safer, more convenient crossing points, new parallel crossings with dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists and improved lighting through upgraded and new lighting columns.
Some of the features in the Abbey Road scheme may be new to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – videos on understanding these changes are on the Travel Actively Cumbria Website.
The scheme builds on the recently completed new active travel route on North Walney and has been funded by Active Travel England and Brilliant Barrow Town Deal funds.
Barrow is benefitting from investment through the Team Barrow partnership programme, with Government agreeing to invest more than £200 million in the town over the next 10 years in recognition of the town’s strategic importance to national defence and security.
The investment will be used to help transform the town, delivering improvements across health, housing, education, transport, the economy and community and a re-invigorated and re-modelled town centre is seen as a key aspect for improvement in the area.
It is hoped the work on the new active routes on Abbey Road and Walney will support those long-term Heart of Barrow ambitions, by connecting residential areas with employment and education areas.
Councillor John Murray, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for transport and regulatory services, said: “It is great to see the first phases of the new Abbey Road scheme nearing completion, allowing people to start using the new routes for walking wheeling and cycling.
“The new active travel schemes on Abbey Road and Walney are an important part of helping to make travelling around the town safer, more sustainable and more accessible for everyone and contribute to the Team Barrow vision of a transformed town centre.
“Enabling more people to choose active travel to get where they need to be is one of the most effective actions we can take to help build a happier, healthier and greener community.”
Phase three of the Abbey Road programme around the Hartington Street junction is also progressing well, with works on this phase – including the existing pedestrian crossing being upgraded to a toucan crossing – due to complete in April.
The next stage around Holker Street and Rawlinson Street junctions is due to start in mid-February and be completed in May, and the whole route is set to be finished and ready for public use in late summer.
A council spokesperson said: “We recognise that during the construction phases of the new active travel routes along Abbey Road there may be some disruption to journeys, with short lane closures to ensure the safety of contractors working on site.
“It is therefore inevitable that this will result in slightly slower than usual traffic flow at times, but traffic management will be in place to minimise the disruption. People planning to travel along Abbey Road should be aware of this and plan their journeys accordingly.’’
