More than 1,000,000 trips recorded on Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway

More than 1,000,000 trips have been recorded on the award-winning CityConnect Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway.

5 August 2019

More than 1,000,000 trips have been recorded on the award-winning CityConnect Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway.

The 23km cycle superhighway, which connects two of Yorkshire’s major cities with a route segregated from traffic, was delivered through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme aimed at encouraging more people to cycle and walk in partnership with Leeds City Council and Bradford Council.        

As of the end of June 1,065,300 trips had been recorded on the cycle superhighway since it opened in summer 2016, with usage increasing by 15% in 2018/19 compared to the previous year.  

Over the past year Armley Road has been the busiest site on the cycle superhighway with an average of more than 8,000 trips being made per month. 

Last summer saw record numbers make the most of the sunny weather on CityConnect infrastructure, with almost 120,000 trips being made on the cycle superhighway between May and July – an overall increase of 26% on the previous year.

Numbers continue to increase year-on-year, with a 3% rise in usage between April and June compared to the same period in 2018.    

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “This is a big milestone for the Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway and it’s great to see year-on-year growth in in the number of trips being made on the route, but this is just the beginning. 

“Two-thirds of journeys made by West Yorkshire residents are under five miles.  With Public Health England estimating 1 in 20 deaths in West Yorkshire are attributable to air pollution, the case for making more of our journeys by bike, on foot and on public transport has never been stronger.

“We know encouraging more of us to travel by bike or on foot not only boosts people’s health and saves individual’s money, it also brings wider environmental and economic benefits for us all, which is why we want to make cycling and walking a natural choice for short, everyday journeys.”

Leeds City Council’s Cycling Champion Cllr Peter Carlill said: “One million trips on the Bradford to Leeds cycle superhighway is a fantastic achievement - and it’s great to see the growth in cycle usage on this route go from strength to strength.

“But this is just the start. These routes play a major part in our long-term Leeds Cycling Starts Here ambition in providing safe routes right across the city to allow more people to make the switch to cycling and get the many benefits it offers.”

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport at Bradford Council, said: “We are very pleased so many people are using the superhighway and that the numbers continue to grow. 

“Cycling is an excellent way to improve air quality, cut congestion and improve people’s health.

“It also happens to be a very cheap way of getting around and has a low impact on the environment.

“We have recently expanded the cycling network by opening another CityConnect route between Shipley and Bradford.

“Developing cycle lanes is part of a broader district-wide strategy to encourage more sustainable forms of transport.”

Since resurfacing works on the Leeds Liverpool Canal towpath between Kirkstall and Shipley in spring 2016 overall usage has increased significantly, including during last winter with usage between December 2018 and February 2019 showing a 40% increase on the year before. 

Communities across West Yorkshire and York are seeing the benefits of new, high quality cycling and walking infrastructure, including Bradford’s Canal Road Cycleway, Leeds’s new city centre cycle superhighway, the Castleford Wakefield Greenway and a series of canal towpath upgrades in Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale, with construction work currently underway on Scarborough Bridge, York.

From route information to free adult cycle training and bike maintenance training, online cycle challenges and support for businesses, find out how CityConnect can help you.

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