WORK is underway to create a new segregated cycle lane in Southampton.

The  £470,000 cycleway along Third Avenue will run parallel to Millbrook Road West and is expected to be completed in late June.

The new cycle lane, along with the sections already completed along Second Avenue, will provide people cycling with a route into and out of the city from Redbridge, Totton and the New Forest

Third Avenue will be made permanently one way for motor traffic travelling eastbound as part of the scheme to create space for the two-way segregated cycle lane.

Southampton City Council (SCC) which is responsible for the scheme said that continuous crossings will be installed and the cycle lane will be segregated from traffic by new kerbs. 

The authority also said it does not anticipate the works having a significant impact on Millbrook Road or the Highways England major project at Redbridge Roundabout, as Third Avenue is used as a service road for access to the industrial area of the city.

The project is part of the  Southampton Cycle Network (SCN), which aims to transform cycling in the city by creating new cycle lanes.

Cllr Jacqui Rayment, cabinet member for transport and public realm, said: “We are committed to developing the Southampton Cycle Network to help tackle congestion, improve air quality and benefit public health. When we consulted with residents on our Cycling Strategy in 2017, and more recently on our new Local Transport Plan, people told us that new and segregated cycle ways and traffic calming measures would help them to cycle more often. It’s great to see we are delivering on that as this major part of the cycle network nears completion. I’d like to thank the local businesses for their patience as we work to complete the project.”

Funding for the scheme  has been sourced from Joint Air Quality Unit funding for a Clean Air Zone and from a successful joint bid by SCC and Hampshire County Council to the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities fund.