New car club and cycle route planned for Horsham in bid to cut emissions

Plans have been revealed for a cycle route from Broadbridge Heath through Horsham to the Oakhill area as well as a new community car club in a bid to slash the town’s carbon emissions.
Cycle routeCycle route
Cycle route

The cycle route will link the large Wickhurst Green development west of Horsham to schools including Shelley Primary in Broadbridge Heath, Tanbridge, Millais and Forest.

In the coming weeks Horsham will see the introduction of a community car club.

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Vehicles will be available to car club members and can be booked hourly in fifteen minute increments. Membership is open to anyone holding a full DVLA licence from the age of 18 - providing they have held their licence for 12 months.

It is 13p a mile plus an hourly hire charge that starts at £3.75. Cars can be booked with as little as one-minute’s notice.

The local authority argue it is cheaper than owning a car.

The initiatives are part of a West Sussex County Council project to improve cycle infrastructure and decrease single occupancy car use in Horsham.

Funding has come from a £2.46million Government grant to be spent over three years on travel projects in Horsham and Chichester.

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The schemes are part of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) programme.

Programme manager Nigel Bird said: “Building a sustainable future for West Sussex is central to everything we do.

“We are committed to growing our economy, improving the health and well-being of our community and reducing carbon emissions.

“Horsham is one of our largest and most competitive urban areas.

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“It is economically buoyant, yet travel behaviour is dominated by private single occupancy car use. Addressing transport congestion and access issues is imperative to ensure growth aspirations are realised.”

New green cycle zones have been painted onto Albion Way as part of the programme.

New double-decker cycle storage at Horsham railway station was also part of the package.

Thousands of pounds are also being poured into behavioural change initiatives.

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An online multi-mode journey planner is currently being developed to provide comprehensive information for walking, cycling, public transport and car journeys.

Mr Bird added: “Through investment in travel behaviour change initiatives and transport infrastructure, the county council aims to fundamentally change travel behaviour, deliver real outcomes including carbon reduction and support growth, with economic benefits after completion of the package.