The U.K. Government plans to invest £338 million (€393m-$466m) to further fuel the active travel boom seen throughout the pandemic. The package will include funding to build hundreds of miles of cycle lanes and deliver walking schemes as well as changes to the Highway Code and new requirements to ensure that the effects of active travel schemes are properly evaluated. The package is part of the government’s commitment to carbon neutrality.
In 2020, cycling in the U.K. rose more than in the previous 20 years put together, with the number of miles cycled on British roads jumping by 45.7 percent to 5 billion. The £338 million investment represents a 30 percent increase to the £257 million (€299m-$354m) announced for active travel in last year’s spending review. A new version of the Highway Code will be published in 2022, with updates including the establishment of a “hierarchy of road users,” to ensure those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they may pose to others. The U.K. government has also announced that the new Active Travel England (ATE) commissioning body will begin work later this year.
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