Temporary 2.5-mile route into the city centre is the latest of what will be seven temporary bike lanes across Liverpool in a £4m project. Tony McDonough reports

Work has started on Liverpool’s third pop-up cycle lane as part of a £4m plan to create seven routes across the city.

The temporary 2.5 mile ‘Liverpool Loop North’ route comes into town from Bootle New Strand via Stanley Road, Commercial Road and Vauxhall Road into Hatton Garden and Dale Street in the city centre.

It is one of seven which will eventually be rolled out across the city to create a 65-mile long network designed to get people using more sustainable forms of transport. A three mile long branch from West Derby Road – along the eastern corridor into the city centre – has been operating since May.

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It has attracted 12,500 cycle journeys from the start of July until the middle of August. A second route from Sefton Park to the city centre was completed in June. Liverpool’s pop-up seven are:

• Route 1 – West Derby Road – Kensington – City South.
• Route 2 – Sefton Park to City Centre – Sefton Park perimeter – Sefton Park Road.
• Route 3 – Liverpool Loop North: Bootle New Strand – Bank Hall – Vauxhall – City Centre.
• Route 4 – East Lancs – Townsend – Breck Road – City Centre.
• Route 5 – East Prescot Road – University Hospital – London Road – City Centre.
• Route 6 – (University Route): Gateacre – Woolton Road – Wavertree – Lawrence Road – Crown Street – Myrtle Street – City Centre.
• Route 7 – Liverpool Loop South: Hale – Speke Boulevard – Garston Village – Aigburth Road – City Centre.

Funding for the pop-up cycle lanes is to be sourced from the council’s highways investment programme and via the Emergency Active Travel Fund established by the Department of Transport. A further £100,000 has been identified to invest in upgrading infrastructure for Liverpool’s existing CityBike hire scheme.

Cllr Sharon Connor, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “This is a real change in promoting how people travel around Liverpool. The pop-up lanes are a temporary solution but we are also looking at investing in the permanent cycling network.”