Work starts on new cycling and walking route

Work is starting on a major walking and cycling route to the town centre.

Following a public consultation, changes were made to the planned route which includes Woodland Road and Outram Street.
Construction work is expected to start on Monday (15 November) with some preliminary work taking place this week.

The work is expected to take 10 months and will be carried out in phases to ensure two way traffic flow along Woodland Road is maintained. There will be some night-time closures later next year which will be advertised.

This is the first phase of a £1.7m Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority -funded project to create a safe route for pedestrians and cyclists from West Park to the town centre, via Cockerton.

Feedback on the initial design was collected from residents, businesses and other interested parties and the designs were amended to address some of the issues identified. Consultation on the Duke Street part of the scheme is ongoing.

Councillor Andy Keir, cabinet member for local services, said: “It is important for our health, the environment and the economy to make it easier for people to use alternative forms of transport to get to the town centre and this scheme will make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to move around the town.

“We listened to issues raised by residents and businesses and following discussions many of these have been resolved.

“This is major work and we will do all we can to minimise disruption but we apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “As we drive towards a cleaner, safer and healthier future, with the innovative industries of the future driving our low-carbon ambitions, we all need to look at how we can help reduce pollution.

“Getting people out of their cars and onto bikes or walking when practical is just one small way we can all play our part, and that’s one of the reasons we’re investing in high-quality walking and cycleways like this one across Darlington. Of course, that’s only part of our investment into our road and rail network, which includes a £25million investment into Darlington station, to help encourage more people to use public transport and cut emissions further.”

The £1.7m project, funded by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority will see raised cycle paths installed along the route to make it as safe as possible for cyclists.

The plans can be viewed at www.darlington.gov.uk/woodlandroad