Content

6.1

The Sheffield Walking, Wheeling
and Cycling Investment Plan will guide future investment over the
next 20 years. The Plan has been developed using guidance from the
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and is intended
to become part of the Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy for
South Yorkshire which SYMCA is currently developing (which will
itself become part of the South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan, a
broader look at what is needed to improve accessibility and
connectivity across South Yorkshire).
 
The Plan sets out the benefits
that investing in walking, wheeling and cycling will have in
supporting the delivery of our Council Plan, Growth Plan and
Transport Vision. It also sets out the Council’s ambition to
develop high quality city-wide networks for people walking,
wheeling and cycling and will be used to inform programme setting
at a regional and local level.
 
In the coming months, the Plan
(as part of the wider South Yorkshire Walking, Wheeling and Cycling
Strategy) will support the development of the emerging programme
aligned to the future transport funding stream expected to be
available in the mid-term (the second City Regional Sustainable
Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for 2027-2032).

 

 

6.2

RESOLVED
UNANIMOUSLY: That the Transport,
Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee:-
 

(a) 
approves the Sheffield Walking, Wheeling and Cycling
Investment Plan (WWCIP), setting out the City Council’s
ambition to develop high quality city-wide networks for people
walking, wheeling and cycling;
 

(b) 
endorses the ‘focus areas’ of
neighbourhoods and routes to opportunity, where investment to
deliver high quality infrastructure improvements and measures that
support and enable people to walk, wheel and cycle more frequently
will be prioritised, alongside city-wide measures;
 

(c) 
notes that this Plan will be submitted to the South
Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to make the case for resources
to further these ambitions;
 

(d) 
notes that the proposed programme to 2035 is
recommended based on the analysis carried out during 2024 and into
early 2025 for the WWCIP. Taking this forward will be subject to
resources and any conditions set on those, as well as other
changing circumstances. It will be subject to review as necessary
with the involvement of Committee Members; and
 

(e) 
notes that officers propose to take forward the
plan, if approved, by continuing to work to listen to voices that
are less heard in relation to walking, wheeling and cycling; to
understand what local communities consider relevant; build
relationships and involve communities throughout the development
stages of our projects.

 

 

6.3

Reasons for Decision

 

 

6.3.1

The Plan sets out the
Council’s ambition to develop high quality city-wide networks
for people walking, wheeling and cycling, through working with our
communities, and to become a more pedestrian-friendly
city.

 

 

6.3.2

It will be used to inform
programme setting at a South Yorkshire and local level, to bring in
the resources needed to deliver this ambition.

 

 

6.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

 

 

6.4.1

Alternative Option 1:
do-nothing.
It would have been an option not to develop a Sheffield Walking,
Wheeling and Cycling Investment Plan. However, that would mean that
we would not have been able to make the case for any funding
available to progress the ambition of becoming a more
pedestrian-friendly city and developing our walking, wheeling and
cycling networks.

 

 

6.4.2

Alternative Option 2:
do-less.
With the first South Yorkshire LCWIP, Government asked for the
identification of a limited number of strategic active travel
routes as Page 36 part of its’ Industrial Strategy. These are
the routes are being rolled out through the current programme.
However, this has meant that there is no prioritised programme for
taking forward after that.

 

 

6.4.3

The advantage of this
investment plan is that it provides a methodology for identifying a
prioritised programme, which can be used again and, of course, can
also be reviewed and amended as considered necessary.