Skip to main content

Plymouth’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency Active Travel Fund Programme

On 9 May 2020 the Transport Secretary announced £2 billion to support walking and cycling.  Of the £2 billion, the Government advised £250 million would be made available to support a ‘series of swift, emergency interventions to make cycling and walking safer,’ of which £25 million was set aside for a bicycle maintenance voucher (£50 voucher for up to 500,000 people). 

On 27 May 2020 the Council was advised that the residual funding would be released in two phases. The funding was calculated using census data and weighted towards areas with high public transport use such as Plymouth. It was for the delivery of emergency active travel schemes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council submitted a proposal for the first phase of funding to the Department for Transport on Friday 5 June 2020 and secured our full allocation, £249,000. 

Our programme for phase one was designed to promote cycling as a replacement for journeys previously made by public transport, and as a practical alternative to the private car. It included a flagship intervention and a complementary programme built around the three pillars of the statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy; Better Safety, Better Mobility, Better Streets as set out below.

Flagship scheme

Armada Way

Introduction of temporary segregated cycling facility from Plymouth’s principle railway station, through the city centre, to a new pop-up city centre cycle parking facility. The route ran through the city centre to temporary cycle parking outside Plymouth Guildhall.

The scheme aimed to support social distancing and help reduce conflict between pedestrians and cyclists, as well as make it easier for workers, shoppers and visitors to access the city centre while capacity on buses was reduced and provide a practical alternative to the private car. It was in place for almost a year.

We are planning to replace the temporary measure with improvements being delivered through our Better Places Plymouth investment programme.

Complementary schemes

Better Mobility

Increased cycle parking at Milehouse Park and Ride and promotion as a park and cycle opportunity.

We installed 35 cycle lockers at the locations listed below helping people to park and cycle.

Cycle locker locationNumber of lockers
Milehouse park and ride7 additional lockers
James Street car park4
Torpoint Ferry2
Mutley Plain car park4
Crownhill car park2
Plympton Ridgeway car park2
Plymstock Broadway car park2
Plymouth Guildhall2
Western Approach car park2
Turnchapel2
Lower Turnchapel car park2
Theatre Royal car park2
Plympton Guildhall2
  • removal of inappropriate barriers on footways and cycle-ways maximising available space for active travel.

Better Safety

  • removal of parking from advisory cycle lanes.

We changed two advisory cycle lanes on Devonport Hill and Elburton Road/ Billacombe Road to temporary, mandatory cycle lanes. The cycle lanes are shown by a sold white line and are enforceable by the Police.

  • signing initiative based on best practice aimed at reducing cycle collisions at roundabouts.

We installed signs at Charles Cross roundabout, St Andrews Cross roundabout, Morrisons roundabout (Plymstock), Cattedown roundabout, Pennycomequick roundabout and Stonehouse roundabout.

Better Streets

  • 20mph when lights flash outside a number of schools.

We installed new signs with the message ‘School: 20 when lights show’ near the following 15 school sites. The signs include flashing lights using a pulsar unit.

School Location of signage
Woodview Learning Community Lancaster Gardens
Woodford Primary School Larkham Lane
Heles School Larkham Lane
Goosewell Primary Academy Goosewell Road and Goosewell Park Road
Elburton Primary Academy Springfield Road and Haye Road (south)
Devonport High School for Boys

Paradise Road

St Matthew's CofE Primary and Nursery Academy Brest Road and William Prance Road
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Ebrington Street
Manadon Vale Primary School St Peters Road
Oak Wood Primary Academy School Southway Drive
High View School Torridge Way
College Road Primary School St Levan Road
Eggbuckland Vale Primary School and Nursery* Church Hill
Plymouth Academy of Creative Arts Millbay Road/ Martin Street
Stoke Damerel Primary Academy Garfield Terrace and Collingwood Road

*This location is being funded by the Forder Valley Link Road project

This means that the advisory speed limit on the affected roads is 20 mph when lights flash; with the times the lights are on coinciding with the start and end of the school day. This helps to improve road safety in the vicinity of the school gate and we hope will encourage more journeys to be made to school on foot and by bike.

Feedback on the signs has been positive.

“We are thrilled with the new flashing 20MPH signs as dangerous driving is a real problem for the safety of our children at our school and we are hugely relieved that something has been done.  I really appreciate how tricky it is, and am very grateful for everyone's effort in making this happen.”

Sarah Ryder Head of Manadon Vale Primary

  • Somerset Place, Stoke Damerel: Experimental one-way and waiting restrictions to address congestion issues in the area. 

We introduced a cycle contraflow, as part of an experimental one-way system on Somerset Place, and a further shared use cycle path.