A429 Coventry Road cycling scheme, Warwick
Updates
Scheme update: 22 November 2024
We thank you for your patience during the period of time where road markings over the Grand Union canal bridge needed repositioning and we alerted our contractors to the hazard immediately.
The contractors have now added 'New Road Layout Ahead' signs at this location and removed the old lining, though we appreciate this was not carried out as promptly as hoped and does not fully resolve the issue. The centre line white lines have now been replaced and help to show the new road alignment.
Our contractors will be carrying out full relining works along the whole of the Coventry Road, which were due to be completed on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 November 2024, but due to the poor weather, this will extend into w/c 25 November.
The new vehicle lanes crossing the canal bridge will be 3 meters wide in both directions of travel (6m total), which is within the accepted tolerance for the 30mph speed limit and A-road classification. The vehicle lanes widen again either side of the canal bridge to a minimum of 3.25 meters in both directions of travel along the remainder of Coventry Road.
Construction work on the southern section of the A429 Coventry Road cycle route began on 14 May 2024, following the final approval by Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning. The completion date for this section of the route is scheduled for autumn 2024.
This work will deliver the southern section of the cycle route between St John’s and the Grand Union canal, where it will make a connection to the Woodloes Park cycle link, a scheme that was completed earlier in 2023. This connection will unlock the potential for more active travel journeys between north Warwick and destinations to the south.
On the 1 May the Secretary of State confirmed the Cycle Track Order that is required to deliver the northern section of this scheme, with the confirmed Order coming into effect on 24 May 2024. Delivery of this section of the route is being programmed, with updates provided on this webpage.
Background
The Coventry Road walking, wheeling and cycling route was identified as a high priority by the 2018 member led Task and Finish Group on cycling infrastructure. During 2018/19 the Traffic and Road Safety Group allocated Casualty Reduction funding to the Coventry Road cycle scheme and commissioned feasibility and outline design work in response to the number of collisions involving cyclists.
This scheme is part of a package of new cycling schemes being developed with funding from the County Council, the government's Getting Building Fund delivered through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Cycle Rail Routes to Stations Fund, administered by Sustrans.
Scheme description
A 1.15km cycle route is proposed on the A429 Coventry Road, Warwick where there is currently no infrastructure for cyclists. The route has been designed to provide a safe and direct cycling route between the Spinney Hill roundabout on the outskirts of Warwick, Warwick station and the St Johns area on the edge of Warwick town centre. The route will provide a key missing link in the local cycling network enabling more people to make journeys by sustainable forms of transport
The proposed scheme will construct a new footway / cycleway adjacent to A429 Coventry Road, from the Spinney Hill roundabout and extending the existing infrastructure that will provide onward cycling connection opportunities to Warwick town centre, Myton School, Warwick Technology Park, and destinations to the south of Warwick via St Nicholas’s park and towards Leamington Spa via the proposed Emscote Road Sustainable Travel Corridor. This scheme will also have links into future Warwick town centre improvements.
The cycle route will be located on the western side of Coventry Road and involves two sections:
Northern section
- A cycleway link across open space between Primrose Hill and Huddison Close.
- A 100 metre on-road section on the quiet road of Huddison Close and Hayle Avenue.
- A 200 metre section of shared use cycleway / footway between the eastern end of Hayle Avenue and the Grand Union Canal on the alignment of an informal path on highway land set back from Coventry Road.
Southern section
- Conversion of a 250 metre length of footway between the Grand Union Canal and 50 metres south of Guys Cross Park Road to a shared use footway/cycleway, widened where needed to achieve a minimum width of 3 metres.
- Installation of a cycle / pedestrian priority crossing on a road hump and the junction kerb radii reduced at Rowan Drive.
- Installation of parallel crossings on each arm of the Guys Cross Park Road junction with Coventry Road, with both arms reduced to single lane width. To prevent additional congestion, right turns from Guys Cross Park Road onto Coventry Road would be prohibited.
- A 240 metre length of segregated cycleway and footway between a point 50 metres south of Guys Cross Park Road and just north of Lakin Road, with the road carriageway narrowed to create space for cycling and walking.
- A further 300 metre section of footway between just north of Lakin Road and The Paddocks converted to shared use footway/cycleway. A wider pedestrian refuge will be provided at Lakin Road with the junction modified to reduce the speed of vehicles turning left from Coventry Road onto Lakin Road. The bus stop and litter bin south of Station Road would be repositioned to the front of the footway.
- To discourage HGV’s from accessing The Paddocks a road hump and narrowing would be provided set back 15 metres from the junction with Coventry Road.
- To support movements between the Coventry Road cycle route and the route through St Nicholas’ Park the existing uncontrolled crossing and pedestrian refuge just north of Lakin Road would be converted to a toucan crossing and the existing puffin crossing outside The Railway Inn would be upgraded to a toucan crossing. In addition, the 110 metres of footway on the eastern side of Coventry Road between the two crossings would be converted to a shared use footway / cycleway with the cycle lane access from Coventry Road onto Guy Street being removed. A priority cycle / pedestrian crossing would be provided on a road hump on Station Avenue.
Engagement
Community engagement on this scheme took place in Autumn 2022. A summary of the community engagement is included as Appendix C in the Portfolio Holder report (PDF, 264 KB).
Consultation
Between 15 December 2022 and 13 January 2023, local residents and local stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the Traffic Regulation Orders needed within the A429 Coventry Road scheme.
A summary of the Traffic Regulation Order consultation is included as Appendix D in the Portfolio Holder Report (PDF, 207 KB).
View the latest design plans:
Cycle Track Order Public Inquiry
For more information about the Cycle Track Order Public Inquiry.
Contact us
For more information, please get in touch by emailing tpu@warwickshire.gov.uk