DETAILED plans for the first phase of a multi-million pound cycle route linking Leamington and Kenilworth have been unveiled.
This part of the proposed route, from Leamington town centre along Kenilworth Road, will run between Binswood Avenue and Northumberland Road and connect with a new signed cycle route along Beauchamp Road and Binswood Avenue.
The overall 5km scheme costing £4.7million has three distinct sections and is set to be constructed over the next three or four years. The first is from Leamington to Bericote roundabout. The second includes a new bridge across the River Avon next to the Ramada Hotel, before the final phase connects to Glasshouse Lane Kenilworth, via the bridleway on Rocky Lane which will be improved.Campaigners had been pressing highways chiefs to provide a safe route for cyclists and walkers between Leamington and Kenilworth for more than two decades. The narrow A452, currently the only direct route between the towns, is used by some 30,000 vehicles a day.
Warwickshire County Council finally agreed to provide funding in November 2019 as part of its on-going active travel efforts to encourage more people to walk and cycle.
WCC transport spokesman Wallace Redford said: “Active travel and encouraging our residents to ditch their cars for shorter journeys is a key priority for this council. The benefits of this travel shift are huge for both individual health outcomes and for the wider environment.
“We recognise that it is not enough just to ask residents to make this large modal shift without providing the necessary walking and cycling infrastructure that makes it both possible and desirable, which is why infrastructure schemes such as the Kenilworth Road Cycle Scheme are so important.
“I hope as many of our residents as possible take the many opportunities – both online and in person – to engage with these detailed plans and give us their feedback as we work together for a Warwickshire that is sustainable now and for future generations.”
The proposed details of this new scheme can be found here
Reference copies of the plans will be available to view at Leamington Library and Shire Hall in Warwick until September 30.
A drop-in session, where people can find out more about the proposals and ask questions, will take place in the lower mall at Royal Priors Shopping Centre on Monday (September 5) between 10am and 5pm.
Information will also be available at Leamington EcoFest, in the Pump Room Gardens, on Saturday (September 3) between 10am and 5pm.
