Funding sought for schemes to encourage active travel in Barnsley

The schemes are part of an £11.4m package of funding to encourage active travel across South Yorkshire from the Department of Transport, through the Sheffield City region.

A bid of more than £1.1m has been submitted to fund a number schemes in Barnsley, including a new footway at Hay Green Lane into Short Wood Dike, better accessibility and surfacing on the Dearne Valley Parkway, Westwood New Road, Black Lane and Wortley to Tankersley, and “refurbishing and upgrading the access ramps on the M1”.

Barnsley could also see a slice of £1.825m funding to improve active travel crossings across South Yorkshire, including Pegasus crossings on Grange Lane and Pontefract Road , and “safer active travel routes” through Dearne Valley to the town centre and Stairfoot.

A report as part of the bids states that more than a third of households in South Yorkshire do not have a car, and the Sheffield City Regions plans to “extend transport choice” to those without cars, linking them to shops, services and public transport.

It is hoped that the schemes will “make the routes feel safer and more attractive to a wider segment of society.”