Active Travel Infrastructure Fund 2025-26: Construction Project

Scheme categorisation

Complexity

New segregated cycleway 

High

Urban, high density, complex junctions, side roads; high quality segregated connecting nearby communities. Schemes involving land acquisition

Medium

Suburban, medium density, fewer junctions/turning movements

Low

New facility in low density location, few/no junctions

New junction treatment

High

Separate phases and spaces for all Active Travel (AT) movements, protected junctions

Medium

Protection of key movements for walking, wheeling and cycling across a junction e.g. continuous footways or cycleways

Low

Accessibility, line of sight and general safety improvements such as kerb buildouts

New footway

High

Large-scale town centre accessibility improvements such as pedestrianisation including area-wide traffic and car parking removal; new rural footway connecting facilities/ communities

Medium

Conversion of carriageway to footway on a medium to large scale

Low

Addressing severance in existing walking routes. New rural footway alongside carriageway

New shared use (walking, wheeling & cycling) facilities

Medium

The needs of all users must be considered fully in the design of shared use facilities. See Cycling by Design for appropriateness.

Installing physical protection to make an existing cycle or footway route safer

Medium

Use of permanent kerbs, bollards, side road treatments, junction work

Low

Installation of cycle lane separators (e.g. wands, orcas etc), Use of bollards or other physical measures to protect existing infrastructure from being parked on.

Note that this would be more suited for Tier 1 funding unless part of an area wide package.

Programmes of improvements / minor works to make an existing walking/cycle route safer or more convenient

Medium/High

Area wide accessibility improvements including use of dropped kerbs, permanent kerbs, side road treatments, junction work, speed limit reduction, lighting and surfacing improvements.

Low

Installation of cycle lane or footway separators (e.g. wands or thermoplastic kerbs), lowered speed limits (as part of wider scheme)

Area-wide traffic management (e.g. modal filtering using ANPR, bollards, robust planters or similar)

High

Large scale, area-wide traffic removal in a highly populated/town centre location OR very large scale fast/heavy traffic removal from rural ‘quiet lanes’ where these have demonstrable benefits for active travellers.

Medium

Area-wide through traffic removal on a smaller/less ambitious scale or widespread urban greening or tree planting schemes particularly where shade and temperature improvements are anticipated.

Low

Selective road closures or reallocating roadspace away from some on-street car parking with SuDS/rain gardens etc

Provision of secure cycle parking facilities

Medium

This could be funded as part of a wider active travel scheme or if proposed on a large or area wide-scale where publicly accessible on-street cycle parking or secure parking at schools/workplaces/hospitals/transport interchanges.  

Widespread repurposing of kerbside carriageway space for the provision of secure on-street cycling parking in residential areas.

Individual or small scale parking provision would be expected to be funded by Tier 1.

Low

Sheffield/Hornsey stands or similar in public places.

Individual or small scale parking provision would be expected to be funded by Tier 1.

New and upgraded road crossings for active travel users

High

Major active travel structures over significant watercourses, railway, or roads

Medium

Crossing addresses a severance issue and will create a continuous walking/wheeling/cycling route (e.g. new signalised crossing of a main road)

Low

E.g. Introducing a pedestrian phase on existing signalised crossing, only if part of high propensity walking route or improving existing crossings (e.g. from a signalised to a zebra)

School Streets / Safer Routes to School

High

Timed or permanent closure on an area-wide basis and/or including a bus route and / or other coordinated series of supply and demand based measures at multiple schools or alteration of school entrance/exit layout. Must indicate that it directly facilitates active travel journeys.

Medium

Routes to school that convert high volumes of journeys to AT or demonstrably improves safety of active travellers relative to the cost of the scheme and needs of the local area through installation of high quality paths / cycle paths

Low

Timed closure of single minor road outside a school, removal of parking. These measures would be expected to be funded by Tier 1.

Rapid Build /Temporary Projects

High

Creation of temporary segregated cycleways which are to be retained in the short term which will be upgraded to permanent layouts

Creation of experimental low traffic neighbourhoods which will be upgraded to permanent layouts

Medium

A series of linked interventions which deal with barriers to walking, wheeling and cycling to improve network coherence, including crossings and modal filters

Low

Isolated interventions such as individual crossings and individual modal filters would be expected to be funded by Tier 1.

Targeted Speed Reduction Measures

High

Speed reduction measures such as kerb build-outs, speed cushions, speed cameras where these demonstrably improve safety or the environment for active travellers.

Barrier Removal

Medium

Organisation has developed plans for the systematic review and removal of barriers on footways, cycle tracks and shared use paths so they are accessible to all

Types of schemes that will not be viewed favourably

• New Cycling Infrastructure that does not demonstrate a level of service as defined by Cycling by Design (e.g. indirect / stop-start / lack of social safety)
• Inappropriate use of Shared Use, resulting in likely conflict between people walking, wheeling and cycling
• Schemes that show poor value for money due to ‘gold-plating’
• Schemes that upgrade existing cycling routes that already provide an acceptable level of service
• Schemes where active travel is not the main beneficiary (e.g. resurfacing, traffic light upgrades)
• Schemes such as 20mph rollouts which change signage only without complementary infrastructure interventions to curtail speeds. There also needs to be a demonstrable improvement to the safety of active travellers.
• Infrastructure to mitigate the impact of development proposals which it would be expected that developers should provide or fund through planning conditions, planning obligations, or other legal agreements