Bypass Cycle Bridge

South Beds FoE Rejoice over Cycle Bridge

South Beds Foe are rejoicing that Beds County Council will be building a cycle bridge over the Linslade Western Bypass beside the Wing Hill roundabout.

Residents of Wing, led by Sean Kelly, and South Beds Friends of the Earth have been campaigning for the bridge since May 2005. 

Last April (2007) Sean Kelly and South Beds FoE organised a demo and a mass cycle ride at the Wing Hill roundabout  attended by over 100 people including Andrew Selous MP,  Leighton-Linslade Cycling Forum,  residents and  children  from both Wing and Leighton/Linslade.

The protestors were holding a banner saying "We need the bridge". Leighton-Linslade Town Council and John Bercow MP also pledged their support for the bridge.  

Many people from Wing work or shop or use the facilities in Leighton Buzzard or use the railway station. The Linslade Western Bypass which opened in September 2007 has made it too unsafe for people to cycle and walk from Wing into Leighton Buzzard. This bridge will restore the link between the two communities. 

Both Bedfordshire County Council and South Beds FoE are keen to promote alternatives to car use in order to reduce congestion and the volume of cars in Linslade, to reduce carbon emissions and promote health.

This link for cycling and walking featured as part of the packages of alternative measures to building a road in the "Alternatives to the A418 Improvements report" that South Beds FoE jointly commissioned with Bucks CC.

We are thrilled that Bedfordshire County Council has secured government funding for this bridge. At last people have a safe alternative to using their cars which can help to both reduce congestion and fight climate change. This should really help local people and shows that a low carbon lifestyle can really be a better quality of life. We want it to be easy to access Leighton Buzzard from Wing without a car so we are also very pleased that a station travel plan process is being setup and that this could result in a really good bus service to the station, as well as it being safe to walk and cycle.

The cycle bridge is part of the alternatives report and this shows that instead of waiting for 8 years for the possibility a huge new road we might get real improvements to transport in the area for far less money in the short term.

Victoria Harvey

newspaper article                                                    Photos: Sean Kelly

Esther Clarke of Leighton-Linslade Cycling Forum adds

"The bridge is a crucial part of the town's cycling network which doesn't just look to encourage cycling within the town but recognises that our nearby villages are within easy cycling distance. People from the town should be able to easily access these villages as part of leisure cycling routes and the people in the villages should not have to rely on their cars or unreliable buses to access facilities in the town. It is important now that the council's focus on the roads and cycle routes around the station and between the station and the town centre to really make the bridge worthwhile. We would like to see improvements to Wing Road and Bunkers Lane as well as changes to the Wing Road/Leighton Road junction and cycle paths across the Linslade Recreation ground too."

link to cycling forum

National

Friends of the Earth