Highways to Hell

Laura tries to get to the bottom of where National Highways' cycling budget has been going

- Laura Laker

If I told you who Britain's self-professed 'biggest cycleway builder' is, you might be surprised to learn it's also our biggest road building body, National Highways (NH). The trouble seems to be establishing what they've built for cycling, or if anyone is using it.

While England's cycle budget dropped off a cliff this year, one body going full steam ahead was the one building us ever more and bigger A-roads and motorways. As part of the fund to try to mitigate the impact of those roads, National Highways had £84m to spend on cycling between 2015 and 2020. Where does the money go, you might ask, and why do trunk roads need cycle routes? Because they are such large, dangerous structures for walking and cycling, a network of dedicated bridges, tunnels and separated cycle routes in and around them are crucial so people can get around without a motor vehicle.

In 2016, NH set new design standards for its cycling and walking provision, which pointed to a brighter future. Campaigners hoped this would raise standards around the country. Sadly, eight years later, there are strong indications NH hasn't been following its own guidance. It can't seem to say if it even planned to follow those standards for the past seven years.