Dame Sarah Storey is to be appointed the city-region’s new Active Travel Commissioner.

Dame Sarah, Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian, takes up the role after former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman became England’s Active Travel Commissioner earlier this year.

Dame Sarah has worked as a policy advocate for British Cycling, with a particular focus on promoting road safety and improving access to cycling for women and those with disabilities.

Most recently, she was Active Travel Commissioner in South Yorkshire, where she led the transformation of the region’s cycling and walking network. Dame Sarah will start her work in May and will work alongside the newly appointed Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt.

On Dame Sarah’s appointment Andy Burnham said

I am delighted Dame Sarah Storey is coming home to Greater Manchester after making such an impact working in South Yorkshire. We have much to deliver together: over the next 12 months we will continue to build on the plans set out by our former Transport Commissioner, Chris Boardman, to make active travel the number one choice in our city-region for everyday trips to work, school and the shops, or as part of a longer journey using public transport.

“This summer, the first phase of our cycle hire scheme will launch in full, making 1,200 bikes available across 200 stations in Manchester, Salford and Trafford, providing tens of thousands of people with access to an affordable, reliable and convenient cycle hire service.”

New Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah will advise the Mayor on the Bee Network active travel vision: a £1.5bn plan to create 1,800 miles of routes to connect every area and community in Greater Manchester, by integrating cycling and walking with other public transport modes and making it easy, safe and attractive for people to travel on foot or by bike for everyday trips.

Funding of £217m has already been confirmed for 117 packages of work. Delivery of these began in 2018 and is expected through to 2025.

Greater Manchester is also delivering on ambitious cycling and walking infrastructure, working towards the creation of the UK’s largest network. The next 12 months will see a further 60km of high-quality routes to Bee Network standards, 40 school streets that make cycling, walking and scooting to school safer and easier, 18 new crossings to overcome breaks in our walking and cycling network and 12 of our award-winning, Dutch-style CYCLOPS junctions

Dame Sarah said: “I’m delighted to be coming home to Greater Manchester as Active Travel Commissioner and am excited to get to work with partners across the city-region.

“Getting physically active is a great way to improve both physical health and mental wellbeing, and cycling and walking short, everyday journeys are some of the easiest ways to do it. Local communities here are already reaping the benefits that quality, safer and more connected walking and cycling routes bring, but there is so much more to come.

“I can’t wait to get started and to enable the benefits of active travel to reach every community in Greater Manchester.”

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