A cyclist in Norwich

Improvements to the safety and access of Norwich’s cycle and footpath network have been welcomed by local campaigners.

Recommendations for the Connect2 cycle scheme at Gurney Road and Sprowston Road, north-east of the city, and Drayton Road, to the west, were given the go- ahead at a meeting of the Norwich Highways Agency committee at City Hall on Thursday.

The scheme is being funded by money allocated to Norwich City Council from transport charity Sustrans’ nationwide Connect2 project and the work is now set to be completed by the end of the year.

The funding was awarded to create a cycle and pedestrian route in the north-east of Norwich, which will link the east of the city with existing routes, including Marriott’s Way.

The £185,000 project is part of £311,000 of the Connect2 money which the city council must spend by March next year – with £260,000 banked for a future route linking the city to Whitlingham Country Park via Riverside and a new bridge across the River Wensum to connect the Utilities site and Deal Ground near Trowse.

The scheme includes improving Valley Drive and connecting it to Gilman Road via Gurney Road, which will link the Open Academy school in Heartsease with Sewell Park College, in Constitution Hill, before continuing down Angel Road and Magdalen Street.

Work can now begin to create a 20mph zone in Gurney Road, as well as speed humps and the conversion of a footway to an unsegregated cycle track and footpath.

The route will then continue from Gilman Road onto Sprowston Road, where a right-turn lane will be created for cyclists and a edestrian refuge will also be created, which will help protect cyclists from oncoming traffic.

The Drayton Road part of the project will see the cycle route travel down Junction Road to join Dolphin Path and lead on to Marriott’s Way at Drayton Road, where a zebra crossing will be created across Drayton Road.

Jeff Jordan, from the Norwich Cycling Campaign, has welcomed the news. He said: “There are some very good improvements.

“The people who will benefit most should be the less confident cyclists who don’t like cycling on the roads and go out of their way to get on the less busy routes.

“That’s great because that is the target group for our campaign, more than experienced cyclists who are already confident on the roads.”

What do you think of the plans? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE or email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk