THE national vote on Lottery funding, which includes the city’s £5m Chester Greenways, is due in less than three months.
The ambitious five-year package is part of a bid by Sustrans to the Living Landmarks People’s Millions programme.
If successful in the public vote, it would see £1.25m pour into the city coffers towards the four schemes.
Proposals include the long awaited bridge and cycle route from Handbridge to Huntington involving a bridge upstream from the Meadows close to where the Caldy Brook flows into the Dee.
This would create a green link between the two suburbs for walkers and cyclists.
It would not be open to motorised vehicles.
Improvements are planned to the Curzon Park/Roodee footbridge. Although this is open to walkers, it is not easy to take a bicycle across.
The city council says improvements would allow much better access to the city and the riverside path for residents in Curzon Park, Lache and Westminster Park.
The extension of the Sustrans Millenium route to Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford would create a safe, traffic free route into the city and link into the growing greenway network.
Finally, a river, canal and greenway link would provide a cycleway and footpath between the Sustrans route on the old railway line and the new cycle route along the banks of the Dee.
Executive member for the environment at the Town Hall, Cllr Neil Ritchie (Con, Tilston) points out the lottery funding is ‘highly speculative’.
If the Sustrans bid is unsuccessful he points out it is only one of a number of possible funding opportunities. He believes it would be possible for the schemes to go ahead independently over a period of five to 10 years.
The city council will be encouraging people to vote for the Sustrans bid at a number of events between now and the vote on Monday, December 10.
