Revised Dewsbury Town Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements

In a submission to WYCA on the revised Dewsbury Town Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements, Cycle Kirklees criticises the way the improvements are designed with “shared-use footways and toucan crossings as the primary infrastructure instead of dedicated cycle tracks”.

The campaign endorses the short-term benefits of the plans, saying they “do create a safer environment by removing people on bicycles from the heavy traffic of the A-Road junctions with the Dewsbury Ring Road.”

However, the campaign says that “if our aim is to provide for a small increase from the current levels of cycling, then this design may have been acceptable, but we as a community are looking to increase cycling levels across the district by over 2000% and reduce car journeys by 25%. For this to succeed, more needs to be done to make cycling coherent, safe, comfortable, direct, and attractive”.

Cycle Kirklees says it will commit to working with Kirklees Council to make the most out of the current proposals for people walking and wheeling. It notes the importance of securing political support “to reallocate the necessary road space to allow for dedicated cycle infrastructure”.

Dewsbury Town Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements submission pdf