Travel Portsmouth

Canal Walk – cycling and walking improvements

Opening date: 24/08/2020

Closing date: 31/12/2020

We have been awarded £214,515 in funding from the governments Emergency Active Travel Fund to put a variety of new temporary schemes in place to encourage people to walk and cycle more and to create space for social distancing.

These schemes are monitored to ensure they are working appropriately for residents, businesses and those using them. To make decisions, on whether the scheme needs altering, it should be removed or continue, data is analysed. This includes an analysis of the schemes usage, road safety audits, the latest information from public health and the police.

One of these schemes is opening Canal Walk for cycling and walking only to make it easier to walk and cycle from east to west of the city.

Further information

What's happening and why

Sydenham Terrace and Canal Walk are popular routes for people walking and cycling, particularly to travel to the City Centre, although Canal Walk only has a pavement on one side of the road.  In addition, this change will make it a safer route as visibility around the corner of Canal Walk and Somers Road is poor. 

How will people be affected by the change

Bollards will stop through traffic along Canal Walk from 2m south-east of Bridgeside Close and 2m north-east of the junction with Construction House to create a safer route for people walking and cycling to the city centre. This approach to creating safer cycler routes is already working successfully along Guildhall Walk.

All of the businesses on Somers Road can still be accessed by Raglan Road or Somers Road by vehicle, on foot or by bike, and by walking or cycling from Sydenham Terrace or Canal Walk. Please make sure you make your delivery companies aware of the road closures and diversions that will be in place.

Vehicles will not be permitted to park within the closure. Emergency vehicles will still have access, and they are being informed of the changes to the road.

Have your say

We welcome feedback from businesses, customers, residents, and people walking and cycling through the area on how the scheme is working. This will help us make alterations and improve the scheme where possible, as well as helping us gather information to inform our review of the scheme. Please share your views by emailing us at EATF@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Please also share your views by taking part in the Sustrans Space to Move survey by visiting https://www.sustrans.org.uk/space-to-move/.

Next steps

We will regularly review all temporary road changes to ensure they are working how we want them to during the pandemic. Data will be gathered on the route usage, road safety audit and current information from Public Health and the Police, and we will also review all feedback we receive. The reviews could lead to some alterations or removal of the road closure depending on how well the change works.

If the routes work well in creating a safe and enjoyable space that encourages active travel, we could then look at adapting the designs to make it permanent.  However, this is a temporary change at this stage, and we’ll be reviewing it regularly to make sure it works appropriately for users of the route, residents and businesses in the area.