Green light for Eco Expressway

Buses, bikes and electric vehicles will get priority along one of Nottingham’s busiest routes, as it is turned into the new Eco Expressway.

The six-mile route will run between the city centre and Vale Road in Colwick, via Manvers Street and Daleside Road. Work starts on 3 October 3 and will be delivered in phases. The first phase extending from Manvers Street/ Sneinton Hermitage junction to the junction of Daleside Road/ Trent Lane will be delivered by March 2017.

The works will see a new cycle route and a road lane for electric vehicles and buses. In the new year a new fleet of all-electric Park & Ride buses will use this route from Colwick into the city.

Nottingham City Council says the Eco Expressway will encourage more people to travel sustainably around Nottingham, with the route funded through the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership, who are providing £6.1m for the bus priority measures and have also funded the Nottingham Cycle City Ambition Programme. The Eastern Cycle Corridor will be delivered at the same time.

Councillor Nick McDonald, portfolio holder for growth and transport at Nottingham City Council, said: “The Eco Expressway is an exciting new development that grows our commitment to low-emission transport further. It will provide quicker and cleaner travel and help to improve the city’s air quality. The new cycle route will include another cycle superhighway for rapid and safe cycling and the new all-electric buses are an exciting step forward towards sustainable transport in the city.”