All Government-Funded West Sussex Pop-Up Cycleways Now Open

All the Government-funded, trial pop-up cycleways in West Sussex are now open, with routes available for people to try in Chichester, Crawley, East Grinstead, Horsham, Shoreham and Worthing.

Would-be cyclists are being urged to consider leaving the car at home and try them for themselves. Parents might consider using part of the routes for their journeys to school.

An important part of assessing the cycleways will be to monitor usage: these are trial schemes, so if people want them to stay, please use them.
Route maps and feedback surveys are available online at www.westsussex.gov.uk/popupcyclelanes

What happens next?

Usage of each of the trial cycleways is being monitored through automatic counters.
We will be collating a lot of information and data, including cyclist numbers, traffic congestion, any accidents, plus air quality results, where these are available through the district and borough councils.
We are also collating feedback from all the stakeholders involved, including through our online surveys.
All the information and feedback will be reviewed on a rolling basis in October and November. 
Once the information has been analysed a decision will be made either to:

• keep the cycleway for a further period, and future review,
• to make alterations and review in future,
• or to remove the scheme.

Why the schemes were introduced:

The pop-up cycleways for West Sussex aim to create safe space for active travel and encourage people to cycle rather than use the car. They are an emergency response to increase travel options as part of the Government-led recovery plan from COVID-19. 

The introduction of social distancing has reduced public transport capacity and people from different households are discouraged from car sharing.
As an emergency response, the Government required the trial schemes to be planned and installed within three months. Given the timeframe, we consulted key partners including district and borough councils, emergency services and bus operators. Normally schemes of this nature would take years to develop and be subject to various stages of public consultation that might last two or more months and involve exhibitions, etc. This was not possible given the timescale limitations required.

The cycleway routes are the result of collaborative work with the district and borough councils.