Bristol gets £3.6m to help boost cycling safety

City Hall bosses admitted Bristol's cycling routes were "very patchy"

Bristol has received a £3.6m boost from the government to make walking and cycling safer and easier.

The cash will be spent on five new projects in the city centre, Knowle West, Old Market and Bedminster.

It will also fund new cycle hangars to help prevent bicycle theft.

City council bosses admitted Bristol's cycling routes were "very patchy" but said this new funding would fill in some of the missing links.

Around £259,000 will be spent on developing the Old Market Quietway, linking up the Bath Railway Path and Castle Park.

Three other schemes in Filwood, Deanery Road and Malago Greenway will be drawn up with the money, which comes from the Department for Transport's active travel fund.

And £1.65m will be spent on construction in the Old City and on King Street.

Across the wider West of England region, £915,599 will be spent on cycle hangars so bicycles can be stored more safely.

The city council's cabinet welcomed the funding at a meeting on 6 June.

Labour councillor Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, said walking and cycling would help cut congestion, make people healthier, and tackle climate change.

"Bristol faces several transport, health and environmental challenges," he said.

"Our priority is to identify funding for schemes that help reduce congestion, improve health outcomes and contribute to our objective of being net carbon zero by 2030."

Green group leader Emma Edwards also welcomed the move, but said more could be done in the city to get a larger pot of funding in the future.

"While securing this funding is to be celebrated, in comparison with other cities there's far more that could be secured - which is why we hope the administration will be mindful of how existing and developing cycle lanes are developed," she said.

"In particular we must ensure that new infrastructure is high quality and meets national standards, to ensure that we can always bid for the funds that Bristol deserves."