Cyclists and walkers are set to have a safer and improved route along part of Eastern Road.
Portsmouth City Council is due to start work on 15 November to improve the walking and cycling route on Eastern Road from just north of Airport Service Road to the north of Harbourside Caravan Park. This is the first stage of improvements being carried out along this route.
Over the next few years, the plan is to make Eastern Road a more attractive, pleasant and safer route for walking and cycling. This stage of activity, funded by government's Active Travel Fund, includes:
- widening the path but not into the road
- relocating the streetlights to the side of the path
- adding new fencing with climbing plants to make this a more pleasant route for all
Creating improvements to walking and cycling routes such as these will offer people a more attractive alternative to travelling by motor vehicle. Switching even one journey a week to walking and cycling benefits peoples' health and wellbeing and creates less air pollution. The improvements aim to support the development of a comprehensive network of cycle routes and footpaths that are accessible for all ages and abilities.
Feedback from many in the survey about this route early this year clearly showed that it needs to be improved for cyclists, with 80% of all those who responded agreeing that the route needs to be made safer for those who cycle, and 89% of pedestrians agreeing that widening the path would improve safety for them.
The work to make the improvements will be carried out overnight between 9pm and 6am and will require a southbound road closure on the Eastern Road between Anchorage Road and Burrfields Road. Airport Service Road will also be closed, up to the junction of Bilton Way. A diversion will be in place via Anchorage Road and Dundas Lane.
The work is weather dependent and currently planned from 15 November 2021 to January 2022 but will stop for the festive period between 18 December and 5 January 2022.There may be some occasions where it is necessary to close both southbound and northbound lanes, such as when lighting columns are taken down and reinstalled.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said "I often seen families and commuters cycling along Eastern Road and I hope these improvements are the start of many more to come to make this a safer and more pleasant route for our local community."
People can find out more about these improvements at www.travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/
