Mallon announces main findings of Report on Pop-up Cycle Lanes

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has announced the main findings of the review on pop-up cycle lanes in Belfast.

Minister Mallon has agreed to maintain the cycle lanes while also creating an additional bus lane along the Dublin Road to further improve sustainable travel options, subject to consultation and legislative processes. 

Announcing the main findings today Minister Mallon said:

“Active travel and the development of better cycling infrastructure is a key objective to begin a Green Recovery as we continue to live with the Covid pandemic.

“While the Covid crisis has brought unprecedented challenges and has fundamentally changed the way we live, there is no doubt that it has also created an opportunity for us all to take a closer look at how we travel or enjoy new leisure pursuits to improve our health and wellbeing.

“The pop up cycle lanes have been a popular addition to city centre streets but nevertheless I have listened to all the feedback and that is why I am taking forward legislation, which includes a period of statutory consultation, to introduce a bus lane along the Dublin Road to assist with traffic flow for buses and emergency vehicles.

“Work will begin shortly to restore the second lane which will be available to all traffic until the statutory consultation and the legislative process on the proposed bus lane is completed.

“The existing cycle lane will be narrowed very slightly to accommodate the scheme, we will push for this work to be completed as quickly as possible and I would appeal to all road users to be patient while it is ongoing.

“I wish to thank everyone who took time to contribute to the review which demonstrated that those walking, wheeling and cycling had most benefit from the pop-up cycle lanes.

“I remain committed to enhancing our active and sustainable travel facilities which allows us to connect communities, improve our health and wellbeing and also tackle the climate crisis.”

The full consultation report will be published on the Department’s website shortly.

Notes to editors: 

1. The review focused on cycle lanes on Dublin Road serving the City Hospital and Grosvenor Road serving the Royal Victoria Hospital, which were primarily introduced to aid key workers cycling to the main hospitals, and considered whether the cycle lanes achieved the objective of getting more people cycling and making the environment better for walking.  It also considered whether changes might be required and lessons learned.
2. The main findings include the following recommendations:         

• Dublin Road – retain the cycle lane, reintroducing two running lanes of traffic making the left hand lane a bus lane and the right hand lane a general traffic lane.  This would alleviate delays to public transport and emergency vehicles in the short-term.  This would require a small reduction in the width of the cycle lane.
• Grosvenor Road – Maintain the pop-up cycle lane while developing a better design longer-term, which encourages more cycling usage for those who cycle on the road instead.
• Other – the Department for Infrastructure should develop policy which guides future pop-up active travel schemes and continue to introduce other pop-up schemes as experimental schemes with better consultation with stakeholders.

3. Departmental officials and three independent stakeholders sat on a working group to oversee the review.
4. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office at: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk.
5. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
6. Follow the Department on Twitter @deptinfra and on Facebook @DepartmentforInfrastructure

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