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Everything you need to know about county’s ‘cycle spine’

It’s full steam ahead for a massive infrastructure project that will create 26 unbroken miles of cycling and walking space in Gloucestershire[1]. Some large sections are already completed while others are almost finalised following public consultations.

When it is completed, people will be able to hop on their bikes and ride from Gloucester city centre[2] to Bishop’s Cleeve,[3] without once having to touch the main road. This non-stop cycle and walking route is the largest of its kind in the country and is part of the wider movement to reduce carbon emissions in Gloucestershire, as well as encouraging commuters to take up the healthier two-wheeled option to get into work.

Called the “cycle spine”,[4] the project is largely funded by the Department for Transport[5] and money from Gloucestershire County Council’s[6] capital spending programme.

While initial work on the cycling section of the B4063 through Churchdown[8] is in its final stage, the other large sections of the project which will go into town and city centres have now secured funding and are finalising their plans, after asking the public for their say[9] on the more than £20m cycle spine – which some have feared could be “white elephant”[10] for Gloucestershire County Council.

The project is focused on creating the main section of the route which has already been funded, from Gloucester[11] to Bishop’s Cleeve, but ultimately it is planned for the entire route to stretch all the way to Stroud – linking many of the county’s major population centres with unbroken cycleway.

Currently, the only section of the four-year project that are under construction is the section through Churchdown, which connects to the already completed M5 to Arle Court and the Honeybourne cycle link The progress on each of the three sections of the cycle spine, which will snake green-paved cycleways from Gloucester Docks[12] to Cheltenham Racecourse[13], is below.

Gloucester City Centre

The Gloucester City Centre section of the 26-mile cycle spine wil transform the look of the city
The Gloucester City Centre section of the 26-mile cycle spine wil transform the look of the city

Visualisations released by Gloucestershire Highways show how the cycle spine will transform the look of Gloucester, with new bright green cycle paths giving pedestrians and cyclists a designated route from Llanthony Road through the docks, along Parliament Street and St Ann Way to Northgate Street, Parliament Street and finally London Road and the junction at Black Dog Way.

This will connect industrial hubs and educational centres with around 1.2 miles of cycleway, improving access to the Docks, as well as Gloucestershire College and the University of Gloucestershire[14] – which would mean improved cycle access for around 14,000 students.

A public consultation on the central Gloucester section of the cycle spine ended in early August, the feedback from which is yet to be published.

Gloucester to Cheltenham

The cycle spine at the M5 bridge which separates Golden Valley and Staverton Bridge
The cycle spine at the M5 bridge which separates Golden Valley and Staverton Bridge

The central Gloucester route will connect to the rest of the “spine” at the Oxstalls junction for the University of Gloucestershire, which is the next part of the project due to start construction. The contract tendering process has begun, with work due to start in Autumn.

The public consultation for this section divided some, though a majority of the 408 people surveyed supported the aims of the scheme, with 48 per cent believing it would improve their community, while 45 per cent did not. 51 per cent were dissatisfied with the current cycling infrastructure in their area.

The council says that “significant progress” has been made in the last six months on the next section of the route connecting Gloucester and Cheltenham[15], which runs from Elmbridge Court Roundabout to Brickhampton Golf Course. The green cycleway surfacing is set to begin in the coming weeks, marking this section as complete.

From the golf course, cyclists will soon be able to ride on the route all the way to the M5 overbridge at Staverton, another part of the route that is almost finished. Works to improve major junctions at Down Hatherley Lane, Commerce Road and Bamfurlong Junctions are due to be completed by the end of this year.

The final section of the cycle spine connecting the county’s two major population centres from the M5 bridge to Arle Court Roundabout finished in January 2023 – and has already seen a 20 per cent increase in the number of people cycling on the route.

Cheltenham to Bishop’s Cleeve

The new look for the Cheltenham Racecourse Roundabout
The new look for the Cheltenham Racecourse Roundabout

From Arle Court, cyclists can then link up with the existing Honeybourne cycle link. The next section of the route is yet to be finalised, but runs from the Honeybourne Line at the Prince of Wales Stadium, through Hudson Street, Marle Hill Road, Wellesley Road, Central Cross Drive, following Evesham Road to the Racecourse Roundabout, via the roundabout and along the A435 to the southern edge of Bishop’s Cleeve by the GE Roundabout.

The route from Honeybourne Line will utilise ‘quiet streets’ (Hudson Street, Marle Hill Road, Wellesley Road and Central Cross Drive), where traffic flow is generally very low, to connect with Pittville Park.

This will connect employment centres and recreation grounds across Cheltenham, as well as further strengthening cycle routes for the multiple University of Gloucestershire campuses in the town. From start to end, this 2.5 mile route will take until 2025 to complete.

The section linking the Honeybourne Line to the Racecourse is set to start towards the end of this year and run into 2024, lasting about 10 months. The second part, connecting from the Racecourse roundabout in Prestbury to the GE Roundabout in Bishop’s Cleeve, will begin in 2024 and finish in 2024.

References

  1. ^ Gloucestershire (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  2. ^ Gloucester city centre (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  3. ^ Bishop’s Cleeve, (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  4. ^ “cycle spine”, (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  5. ^ Department for Transport (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  6. ^ Gloucestershire County Council’s (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  7. ^ Forest Green Rovers’ new timber stadium next to M5 a step closer as latest plans are revealed (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  8. ^ Churchdown (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  9. ^ asking the public for their say (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  10. ^ “white elephant” (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  11. ^ Gloucester (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  12. ^ Gloucester Docks (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  13. ^ Cheltenham Racecourse (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  14. ^ University of Gloucestershire (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  15. ^ Cheltenham (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)

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