Published on Tuesday 17 December 2019
BCP Council has made its final submission to the Transforming Cities Fund to support a £135 million programme of sustainable transport proposals.
The government funded scheme aims to support projects that will make a step-change in encouraging people to switch to using more sustainable forms of transport. The funding presents an opportunity to tackle congestion, pollution and climate change emissions within Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole by creating sustainable transport corridors. Examples of the proposals included in our submission are:
- A series of Sustainable Transport Corridors with improvements to bus, cycle and walking infrastructure to connect homes to places of work and pupils to schools and education centres safely;
- A wider network of cycle routes, complementary to these corridors with improvements to infrastructure and facilities, again connecting homes to work and pupils to schools and education centres safely;
- Improved highway network management;
- Enhancements to and expansion of a community bike share scheme;
- Workplace facilities to encourage sustainable commuting.
Based on Government requirement, three options have been included in the bid for different funding amounts, each supported by partnership funding from key stakeholders including bus companies, transport operators and BCP Council.
Councillor Andy Hadley said: "The reality is that we can’t build more capacity for the car in our crowded conurbation, so we have to enhance the alternatives. There is a long process to bid for funding this work, but the hope is to start from April 2020 on a core network of improvements. Enhancing reliability for the bus companies will enable them to increase frequency on these key routes. Safer cycleways and footways will empower people of all ages to make shorter journeys by bike or walking, and evidence elsewhere shows this makes a real difference. As part of the work, we also hope to improve a number of locations, especially junctions, that have a poor record for injuries to people on bikes being hit by cars."
Because of new opportunities that have arisen related to regeneration of the area around the Dolphin Centre, Poole bus station has been removed from the TCF submission. It has been replaced by additional projects that improve journey times and safety for those taking sustainable forms of transport.
Councillor Hadley added: "We are still committed to providing a new bus station in Poole. The wider opportunities regarding regeneration in the area will be addressed in a Cabinet paper on Poole regeneration being discussed on December 20."