Pedestrians and cyclists will enjoy better access to places like the Wirral International Business Park and Croft Retail Park with the completion of a significant active travel scheme.
The A41 Eastham cycleway project has seen an off-road walking and cycle path created along New Chester Road, between Eastham Village Road and junction 5 of the M53 motorway at Hooton, and links to improved crossing facilities completed by Highways England and also improving links to Ellesmere Port.
This new 1.2km route will connect with the existing shared cycleway and walkway that runs north from Eastham Village Road towards Bromborough.
Other improvements carried out as part of this project include changes to crossing points at Eastham Village Road and New Chester Road, and Stanley Lane and New Chester Road.
The bus stop to the south of the Shell Garage on New Chester Road has also been redesigned to create a wider shared-use path, and some street furniture has been relocated to remove obstructions along the new path.
The project was made possible due to funding of £820,000 from the Wirral Sustainable Transport Enhancements Programme Package (STEP).
STEP funding is part of the Growth Deal approved under the Devolution Agreement, announced in July 2014, where the government allocated a total of £41.4 million to the Liverpool City Region for Sustainable Transport to make improvements between 2015/16 to 2020/21. This scheme is part of the final year of the programme.
Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee at Wirral Council, said: “This has been an important early project for Wirral and brings improvements to the transport network for pedestrians and cyclists, making it safer and more accessible for residents to travel sustainably. The scheme will help support people’s health and wellbeing by making it easier to walk and cycle – which in turn reduces greenhouse gases emissions and reduces air pollution.
“Delivering projects to help reduce driving and encourage safer walking and cycling is a priority for the council. We will continue to secure funding for more infrastructure projects to provide a network suitable for our communities’ greener futures and provide even better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.”
The works were carried out by contractors, Cambrianway, who also delivered excellent social value during this project. 85% of their workforce on this project were from the Wirral area and they used local businesses and suppliers throughout the development of the scheme. Cambrianway also made donations totalling £1,000 to local charities as part of their social value contributions.
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