CASH OBTAINED BY COVENTRY COUNCIL TO ASSIST WITH TRANSPORT NETWORK

Major cash is obtained by the council to assist alter Coventry’s transportation infrastructure

Coventry City Council has obtained grant cash of £115.9 million to assist in decarbonizing and enhancing the city’s transportation infrastructure.

Full story at : https://www.coventry.gov.uk/news/article/4353/council-secures-major-funding-to-help-transform-coventry-s-transport-system

Grants

Following a successful submission to the Department of Transportation’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, the majority of the cash was obtained (CRSTS). Sustrans’ Paths for Everyone grant and the WMCA’s Active Travel Fund both provided further funds.

The funds will be addressed in the Cabinet meeting on August 30 before being presented to the Full Council on September 6. If granted, the funds will be used to finance many cutting-edge transportation plans around the city.

Bike, walk, and public transportation

Through the implementation of various sustainable transportation initiatives, all of the programmes aim to make it simpler for people to bike, walk, or take public transportation around the city. These actions include things like concentrating road network upgrades, setting up new cycling and pedestrian paths, and enhancing connectivity throughout the transportation system.

Additionally, a sizable portion of the cash will support the cutting-edge Coventry Very Light Rail project. The funds will be used to assist the construction of this innovative plan, which, if complete, will provide city residents and tourists with an accessible and dependable light rail system.

Climate change

The Council hopes to encourage inhabitants to use alternatives to the private vehicle by investing in this infrastructure and promoting sustainable transportation in the city. If successful, this would help the city do its lot to combat the causes of climate change by drastically reducing the amount of emissions produced by the city’s transportation system.

The CRSTS, WMCA’s Active Travel Fund, and Sustrans Paths for Everyone cash will be added to by up to £26.8 million in match funding, which is a combination of private and public sector investment, for the projects.

The funds will be considered by the Cabinet on August 30 before being put to a vote by the Full Council on September 6.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle said: “We know that in order to play our part in tackling the causes of climate change we need to make fundamental changes to our city’s transport network.

“We have to encourage people to choose alternatives to the private car for some journeys and to do that we have to make sure that walking, cycling and public transport are attractive and viable alternatives in our city.

“That’s why I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to secure such a significant amount of funding to help us do this.  This funding will help us to lead a number of projects that will  play a major role  in the green transformation of our city’s transport network.  Along with the all-electric bus fleet, fully segregated cycle routes and more on street charge points than anywhere else outside London our ambition is to enable local people to be able to make real choices about how they travel sustainably.

“As we’ve said before, in Coventry we don’t want to just talk about climate change. We want to actually tackle it. With this funding and the schemes that we get as a result of it, we’ll be doing just that. “