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Leicester City Council will begin work to create a two-way cycle track and introduce new bus-only lanes along a stretch of the road, between Abbey Lane and the road bridge across the River Soar.
The cycle track will be created on the opposite side of the road to Abbey Park, and the footpath will also be reconstructed and improved.
To make room for the new cycle track, the existing central reservation will be removed. This means that two lanes of traffic will be maintained on this side of the road, with the nearside lane due to converted into a bus lane.
The scheme will also involve the removal of existing car parking on Abbey Park Road, close to its junctions with Swithland Avenue. This will be subject to statutory consultation as part of the process of applying for a new traffic regulation order.
The improvements, which will cost about £460,000, will begin on 14th October and are expected to take around five months. Work will be carried out during off-peak hours to minimise any impact on traffic.
The improvements will be part-funded with Government cash as part of the council’s successful bid for £7.8million from the Transforming Cities Fund. This work is intended as the first stage of longer-term improvements that could be made to the road.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Our Connecting Leicester programme has helped transform the city centre with safer and more attractive routes for cyclists and pedestrians.
“As part of our successful bid to the Transforming Cities Fund, we want to extend that work and provide safe links into outlying neighbourhoods and ensure that our roads support efficient and reliable bus services.
“This kind of investment is essential in helping more people make the shift from the car to more sustainable forms of transport.”
