Portsmouth City Council has announced plans to create two new routes for safer walking and cycling across the city.
The first one, the local authority claims, is on Alver Road in Fratton, which links with Guildford Road and Olinda Street to connect St Mary’s Road with Fratton Road. The council points to this as a major route for traffic leaving and entering the area.
The proposed cycle route will cut through on to Alver Road, which is currently a dead end leading directly on to Fratton Road. The hope is that the new route would allow people to walk and cycle down quieter roads like these and make them safer for everyone. It would also mean cyclists no longer need to use the major junction of St Mary’s Road to access Fratton Road.
What’s more, the council hopes to implement dropped kerbs to replace those that currently determine access to Fratton Road, but does not plan to remove bollards as it claims these act as ‘modal filters’. This is also intended to free up access for pedestrians and cyclists.
Lynne Stagg, councillor and cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: “It’s so important that all road users feel safe and confident on Portsmouth roads, and I know these small changes will make a big difference for people walking and cycling in the city.
“We’re committed to making sure there are easy and logical routes for people to use away from main roads where possible, and this is another part of the overall plan for walking and cycling in the city.”
The new route will enable people travelling on bikes and rental e-scooters (during the council’s agreed rental e-scooter trial) to turn left on to Guildford Road or Olinda Street and right onto Alver Road, allowing them to take a less busy route on to Fratton Road.
Moreover, these route amendments will enable travellers to link up with the East to West cycle path running on Fratton Road, while also affording access to quieter routes to Southsea and the seafront.
A further announced change will be to Henderson Road in Eastney, which the council claims is a major sea access route for people walking and cycling, and that proposed route upgrades will improve connectivity to for the cycle path along the seafront.
Portsmouth also hopes to improve road safety for people cycling along the seafront by installing cycle defenders to keep the designated cycle lane separate from traffic.
These active travel-focused measures align with the council’s wider committed to making journeys for residents, visitors and commuters in Portsmouth safer, greener and better-connected through infrastructure investments.
