Two new cycle routes could be built in Runcorn as efforts to encourage cycling after the pandemic continue.
The first would link Runcorn town centre to Sci-Tech Daresbury, starting on Bridge Street and going through the Astmoor Industrial Estate.
The second route would make the cycleway between Halton Lea and Murdishaw permanent by building a cycle path alongside the road, replacing the current, temporary path on the carriageway.
The plans were welcomed by Halton councillors last night as members of the Environment and Urban Renewal Policy and Performance Board endorsed the proposals.
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Cllr Robert Gilligan said: “The situation now with the Covid virus, we do a lot of walking and it’s getting that way now you are going to need traffic lights on the pavement.
“It really proves the requirement for these to go ahead.
Cllr Mike Fry agreed, saying the number of people cycling in the borough had “gone bonkers”.
Council officer Jonathan Farmer explained that the routes had been chosen to link people’s homes to their workplaces, saying the council expected them to mainly be used by commuters.
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The council will stage a public consultation on the Runcorn-to-Daresbury route in March before proceeding with the plans, while a consultation on the Halton Lea-to-Murdishaw route closed on Monday (February 22).
The city region has already awarded Halton £2.2m to fund the Murdishaw route out of a larger grant from the Department for Transport.
If approved, these routes will add to the borough’s new cycling infrastructure that already includes a number of routes in Widnes.
However, one of these routes proved short-lived as councillors decided the temporary cycle path along Liverpool Road was causing too much congestion.
