New £600k cycle path opens in coastal village
National HighwaysA new £600,000 cycle path has been built in a coastal village to improve accessibility and safety.
The off-road path in Lowca, near Whitehaven in Cumbria, is part of Hadrian's Cycleway connecting Cumbria and north-east England.
National Highways, which provided the funding, said the off-road path alongside Foundry Road and High Lowca replaced a section of cycle path which previously took people on to a road with "challenging junctions".
Restrictive barriers which previously prevented wheelchair users and prams from accessing the track have also been removed.
Head of customer journeys at National Highways Freda Rashdi said the path was a "vital link" for residents.
She said: "These improvements help to give more people in the area the choice to use the route on short journeys and reduce traffic pressures on the A595 between Workington and Whitehaven."
Hadrian's Cycleway, also known as Route 72, connects Ravenglass in Cumbria to South Shields in Tyne and Wear.
It follows the line of the Roman frontier for 174 miles (280 kilometres), with hundreds of cyclists completing the full route every year.
The work in Lowca, carried out by Cumberland Council and Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, included widening some sections of the existing path and creation of new crossings.
The Labour council's executive member for sustainable places, Denise Rollo, said the work made it easier for people of all abilities to get around.
She said: "This scheme builds on our wider work to improve connections along Hadrian's Cycleway and supports safer everyday journeys to school, work and local services."
