Cycling takes priority over cars in Leeds future says head of transport

Coun Lisa Mulherin also insisted the plans were not designed to make life more difficult for car drivers, adding it is time to think about the large numbers of people without access to personal vehicles.

The 1960s saw ambitious road building projects in the city, including the M62, M1 and M621 – Leeds would excitedly dub itself “the motorway city of the seventies”.

But the focus on the car would eventually come back to bite. Over the last 15 years, plans for two expensive mass transit systems have thrown out due to being either too expensive or unviable.

This has left Leeds as the largest city in western Europe without a built-in mass transit system, such as a tram or underground rail.

Coun Mulherin is the council’s portfolio-holder for transport and planning. She believes plenty can still be done to modernise transport in the city, believing cycling could be the way forward for many.

“Times have changed,” she said. “When I was growing up, very few people had a car, and if they did, they only had one per household. Now we live in a society where people some people have two cars.

“But 30 percent of the population doesn’t have access to a car, and those needs have not been met.

“Inner-city Leeds does have a fast-growing population, and they are the areas that are most affected by pollution and rat-running. We need to find ways to make it easier for them to get into the city centre.”

It’s impossible not to have noticed some of the road works that have been taking place in Leeds City Centre over the past year, with large-scale works taking place in and around the Headrow to make the city more easily accessible for public transport and pedestrians.

But Coun Mulherin also suggests segregated cycle lanes could be the future for some of the city’s roads.

She said: “People will have noticed the work we have been doing on the top of the Headrow, and Park Row, with the cycle lanes for the longer term to have improved public transport provision in the city centre. The real connection will improve life for all of us.

“We want to expand segregated cycle provision. I have picked up concerns from people who don’t like people cycling on the pavement – if you had a segregated lane, they wouldn’t be doing that.

“The measures won’t make it difficult to travel by car – they are not intended to make life more difficult for people travelling by car.

“Drivers have had their needs at the top of the list for many years – they do not need to be afraid of this.”

She added travelling by bicycle could improve the general health of people in the city, which could ultimately ease pressure on health and social care services.

“We know active travel is beneficial for people’s mental health and physical health,” she said. “We have been working to promote people being physically active and getting outdoors.

“It will help the economy but it will help individuals and it helps with the health and social care services.

“We are in the middle of a health pandemic and for many people who have really struggled and those conditions are a big factor in terms of the ability to fight off the virus.

“But we have also seen people being more physically active – employers have also seen many people can work effectively from home. But if you have the opportunity to work from home, two to three days a week, I don’t think it would be a bad thing, as long as you can still meet your objectives.”