Derby City Council has submitted an ambitious “Moving Derby Forward Programme to government, following notification on 27th May that £204,000 had been allocated to the city to introduce Covid-19 emergency transport measures, essentially to support cycling and walking.
The proposal, submitted on Friday 5th June, includes large scale segregated cycle lanes on London Road and Uttoxeter Road, radical changes to traffic in the city centre, and the re-direction of traffic in Darley Abbey and Spondon. All of the measures are designed to have a high impact and support pedestrians and cyclists and create more space for social distancing.
Areas such as The Spot, Albert Street, Victoria Street and Wardwick will become one-way, with road space reallocated. Corporation Street will only be open for buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.
Church Lane at Darley Abbey will be closed to traffic turning in from the A6 Duffield Road, except for cyclists. Pedestrian access will be maintained. A significant section of Church Lane does not have a footway on both sides, so a temporary footway space will be created, which will narrow the road. The aim is to reduce traffic and reduce speeds and create a quieter space, make it more friendly for active travel, and for accessing the park, and the various cycle routes in the area. It is also proposed that the quieter environment will benefit the two schools in the area. Traffic signals are also currently planned for the junction of Duffield Road and Mile Ash Lane, to provide better access and egress for Darley Abbey residents.
In Spondon, there will be a re-direction of traffic and reallocation of road to create better footways to link two areas of the village centre.
All of the measures will be implemented using temporary traffic management equipment and using the emergency Covid 19 traffic regulation order powers.
It is expected that there will be a further round of funding for additional measures.
Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning, and Transportation said:
There is no doubt that Covid-19 has presented many challenges, but this is also an opportunity to support the uptake of active travel and make some environmental changes. The proposals are part of the wider ambition for re-energising Derby, and to ensure that the city emerges from the crisis in ways that meet the new challenges. Government wants to promote action across the country, and is providing financial support, allowing local authorities to respond to the crisis and test measures that provide an alternative to car use, particularly whilst there is guidance on limiting the use of public transport. That is why Government has required the Council to respond at speed and make a submission in just over a week. Local councils are not being asked to implement simple measures, we are being challenged to deliver measures that have impact and scale. In Derby, the measures proposed are an opportunity to test what could be possible, and to provide an opportunity for the public to experience such changes and offer feedback. If further funding is made available, then I would like local Councillors from across the city to look at these initial measures, and consider what could be proposed in the local areas they represent. They are best placed to use their local insight to suggest ideas that would be supported by residents and can be considered to deliver. All of the measures will be reviewed every three months, and may be changed or become permanent. Covid-19 has changed many perceptions about the way we live, work and travel, and whilst these measures may have been controversial to some road users in a pre-Covid world, the Council has taken a balanced approach, and we are keen to take the opportunity to move Derby forward.