Liverpool City Council awards two design contracts for the delayed phase 2 upgrade of The Strand on the waterfront which will cost £5m. Tony McDonough reports
Delayed work on phase 2 upgrade of The Strand on Liverpool waterfront is a step closer to starting.
Upgrades to The Strand were temporarily halted last year when the city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. First stage of the £22m revamp, from Bath Street to James Street, was completed in November 2021.
However, the second phase, costing £5m and stretching from the James Street junction to Liver Street has been pushed back from its original schedule. Now the council has selected AECOM to deliver the modelling and concept design.
During phase 1, new trees and public spaces and a permanent segregated cycle lane were created. Phase 2 will see similar changes made to the highway from James Street to Liver close to the Baltic Triangle.
A major part of the plan is for the cycle path to connect the south of Liverpool to the north.
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This will allow cyclists to eventually ride the full length of the Mersey from Otterspool to Southport. It all forms part of the £47m Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) scheme.
A Liverpool City Council report stated the new phase of the scheme would strive for “collective action to improve local air quality”.
It said: “The delivery of The Strand corridor will support the aims of the Liverpool Clean Air Plan to ensure that levels of Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter are better than the statutory legal limits by promoting the switch away from polluting vehicles to active travel for shorter journeys.”