Mayor Welcomes Promised Boost in Cycling and Walking Funds

[SheffieldForum]

 

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has expressed strong support for recent comments by local MP and Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, who has promised “unprecedented levels” of funding for cycling and walking schemes under the new Labour government. The commitment is part of broader plans to enhance public health and reduce inequality across the UK.

A New Era for Active Travel

Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, was appointed Transport Secretary following Labour’s general election victory in July 2024. In a recent statement, she emphasised the importance of investing in walking and cycling as critical components of the new government’s strategy to address the nation’s public health and environmental challenges.

 

“We’re in a climate crisis. We’re in a public health crisis; getting people walking and cycling and moving more are essential to solving both of those in the immediate term and in the long term,” Haigh told The Guardian. She highlighted the potential impact on healthcare, predicting that a nationwide network of safe cycle routes could significantly reduce the number of GP appointments, saving the NHS hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of appointments each year.

Mayor Oliver Coppard’s Vision for South Yorkshire

Oliver Coppard, who has been a vocal advocate for improving active travel infrastructure across Sheffield and South Yorkshire, welcomed Haigh’s comments with enthusiasm. He has been working closely with Ed Clancy OBE, the Barnsley-born former Olympic cyclist and the region’s Active Travel Commissioner, to push forward these initiatives.

 

“A healthier, wealthier and happier South Yorkshire is my absolute mission,” said Coppard. “I am committed to giving people the chance to move more and move differently to improve our region’s health, wellbeing, and happiness. I know that Lou Haigh understands the transport challenges facing South Yorkshire and supports my mission to make us the healthiest region in the country.”

 

Coppard also expressed his eagerness to collaborate with the new government to create a fully integrated public transport system that seamlessly connects buses, trams, trains, and active travel routes across South Yorkshire.

Recent Developments in South Yorkshire

The commitment to active travel was further underscored in July 2024 when the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority announced new measures to support cycling across the region. One of the key initiatives is the introduction of a new 250km bike route, named South Yorkshire by Bike, aimed at encouraging local communities to embrace the benefits of cycling.

 

As part of this initiative, Ed Clancy took on the challenge of traversing the entire route using one of the region’s 130 new e-bikes, which were funded by Active Travel England. These e-bikes will be made available to the public through a national free e-bike loan scheme, further supporting the push towards more sustainable and health-focused transport options.

[Cody's Granddad]

Who would want to sit in the day to day traffic jams we see in the same roads sometimes 7 days a week in some places.

E-bikes are the best thing for this City because they allow people to cycle around who normally would not cycle.

No hill is to challenging for an e-bike.

I'm home from work in 15 minutes on my e-bike I would be lucky to get off the ring road in that time in my car.

Yes, I do drive but cycle commuting makes perfect sense. 

[ads36]

what he ^ just said.

my e-bike has saved me ... at least £20,000, and i can get to / from the city centre in 20 easy minutes.

[Guest]

I'm not sure why walking needs funding.

[AndrewC]

5 minutes ago, Uggy said:

I'm not sure why walking needs funding.

 

The exact same reason for why we need funding to improve cycling/public transport.

 

Improve accessibility, improve safety, make it more attractive, quicker etc. When you consider the number of pavements in poor condition (uneven, potholes, too narrow etc.), unfriendly road junctions with poor accessibility, or so wide that it takes age to cross to the other side, inadequate routes across large roads like dual carriageways or large junctions etc., lack of enforcement against pavement parking etc. - you can soon start to see plenty of things money could be spent on to make walking a more attractive alternative to the car.

 

 

I'm someone who will naturally look to walking as my first choice way to travel, and I'm reasonably fit and mobile - I'll put up with crap crossings, crap pavements, unattractive underpasses etc. - but I'm probably an outlier. A lot of other people will quickly be put off with walking on city pavements and jump in the car instead.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

 

The exact same reason for why we need funding to improve cycling/public transport.

 

Improve accessibility, improve safety, make it more attractive, quicker etc. When you consider the number of pavements in poor condition (uneven, potholes, too narrow etc.), unfriendly road junctions with poor accessibility, or so wide that it takes age to cross to the other side, inadequate routes across large roads like dual carriageways or large junctions etc., lack of enforcement against pavement parking etc. - you can soon start to see plenty of things money could be spent on to make walking a more attractive alternative to the car.

 

 

I'm someone who will naturally look to walking as my first choice way to travel, and I'm reasonably fit and mobile - I'll put up with crap crossings, crap pavements, unattractive underpasses etc. - but I'm probably an outlier. A lot of other people will quickly be put off with walking on city pavements and jump in the car instead.

Nope I agree with you, shank's pony is my first choice

[SheffieldForum]

1 hour ago, Uggy said:

I'm not sure why walking needs funding.

As above. 

 

People walking doesn't need funding per se - but the walking infrastructure (footpaths, pavements, crossings, bridges, underpasses, connected route planning, etc) does.

[ads36]

for the last ... 80 years (?) almost all of the money spent on transport has been spent on roads/cars.

 

 more / faster / wider roads has made it harder to walk somewhere.

 

i sometimes buy my lunch from the shop over the road, but because of car-centric spending, i have to cross 11 lanes of traffic to get there. it's easier to drive, so sometimes i accept defeat, and drive, to the shop over the road. This is obviously daft, but it's the way we've built it.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, ads36 said:

for the last ... 80 years (?) almost all of the money spent on transport has been spent on roads/cars.

 

 more / faster / wider roads has made it harder to walk somewhere.

 

i sometimes buy my lunch from the shop over the road, but because of car-centric spending, i have to cross 11 lanes of traffic to get there. it's easier to drive, so sometimes i accept defeat, and drive, to the shop over the road. This is obviously daft, but it's the way we've built it.

Yep it seems silly, but electric cars won't change anything, hardly anyone uses the cycle lanes, and the council allow footpaths and bridleways to become over grown, I accept that sometimes this is through lack of use but if it's always available it might get used more.