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Sustrans Connect2

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Shrewsbury is one of 79 places across the UK which has been chosen to receive Connect2 funding from Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity.

To find out about the other Connect2 schemes across the UK visit the Sustrans Connect2 website.

What is Connect2?

Sustrans' Connect2 is funded by a £50 million Big Lottery Fund grant after the UK public voted the scheme the winner of The People's Millions Lottery contest in December 2007.

Shrewsbury is also one of 18 cycling towns in England. Connect2 in Shrewsbury is managed as part of Cycle Shrewsbury.

What areas will benefit from the Connect2 scheme?

The focus of Connect2 in Shrewsbury will be a riverside promenade along Smithfield Road and a pedestrian/cycle crossing at Welsh Bridge, linking the traffic-free route through the Quarry to the bus and railway stations. It will also make it easier to visit the Darwin Geo-garden which has been created to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.

The Connect2 network continues to the railway station and the north of the town, as well as connecting to National Cycle Route 81 alongside the River Severn.

Download a PDF map of the proposed scheme

How will Connect2 be delivered?

The Sustrans Connect2 funding is available until 2013. In Shrewsbury Connect 2 is managed as part of Cycle Shrewsbury, which runs until 2011, and the aim is to deliver all the Connect2 improvements during the lifetime of Cycle Shrewsbury. To download maps and photos of completed schemes please click here.

The Cycle Shrewsbury/Connect 2 Project Group has members drawn from local cycling groups, health organisations, Sustrans, disability groups, local cycle trade, ramblers and the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust, as well as relevant departments of Shropshire Council including planning, economic development and sustainability. Shropshire councillors and Shrewsbury Town Council are also represented. The group meets approximately quarterly and oversees progress in all areas of the programme.

You can contact the Steering Group using the contact details on this page.

Connect2 Projects

The following elements all form part of Shrewsbury's 'core' network of Connect2 walking and cycling routes, to be completed by 2012:

Element 1 - Greenfields Greenways - completed July 2009. Find out more here.
Element 2 - Welsh Bridge - opening April 2010 Find out more here.
Element 3 - Ellesmere Grange - opened December 2009.A new traffic-free path and cycle track now connects Castle Foregate with Ellesmere Road, via the new Ellesmere Grange housing development.
Element 4 - Castle Foregate crossing - due 2011. Following the opening of the Ellesmere Grange path, we will be undertaking surveys in May and June 2010 to assess demand and identify the best location for crossing facilities on Castle Foregate.
Element 5 - Smithfield Road - due 2011. The Welsh Bridge crossing improvements have significantly improved access to the riverside. Element 5 will look at extending and improving the walking and cycling routes; around the old Boxing Gym on Smithfield Road; between Roushill and the bus station; across the junction at Raven Meadows; and a cycle contraflow lane on Meadow Place. View the proposals and have your say about a pedestrian crossing refuge on Smithfield Road here.
Element 6 - Castle Gates/Foregate - due 2011. Modelling and design work is underway for the gyratory system on Chester Street, Castle Foregate, Cross Street and Smithfield Road.
Element 7 - Greenfields streets - due 2011. Design work will start later this year to look at options to link the new Ellesmere Grange path to the Greenfields Greenways