Ubique Project Management is providing Project Management Consultancy to St Helens Local Authority, project managing the Cyclops Junction
Liverpool City Region’s first Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS) junction – an award-winning design layout being implemented in more and more cities and towns across the country – which prioritises the safety of pedestrians and cyclists by segregating them from motorists, reducing the risk of collision and improving journey times for all road users.
Replacing the roundabout by the Bull & Dog pub on Marshalls Cross Road, the CYCLOPS forms an integral part of the £15m St Helens Southern Gateway scheme, a partnership between St Helens Borough Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Northern Rail to help make sustainable travel an easier choice for commuters who use Lea Green Railway Station, one of the borough’s busiest stations.
In a prime location, the CYCLOPS is close to several primary and secondary schools and sits next to Lea Green Railway Station, which is undergoing a major refurbishment, as well as a number of cycle routes to encourage residents and visitors to consider more active forms of transport for shorter journeys to help achieve net zero carbon targets by 2040.
The outer ‘ring’ of the junction is a cycle path, acting like a roundabout with signal-controlled crossings. This will allow those who cycle to cross over the junction or make right turns unrestricted by cars or foot traffic, creating a safe route to travel. The inner ‘ring’ of the junction is dedicated to pedestrians, with those walking and cycling getting the same green light signal in all directions at the same time, but on a separate ring of paths in the middle of the junction.
There are well-defined zebra crossings on each side of the junction to provide a safe place to cross the cycle lane for pedestrians. All motorised traffic stops at the lights whilst cyclists and pedestrians have their green light signal.
Once pedestrians and cyclists have passed, motorised traffic will get the green light signal to continue driving and use the junction like normal.
“This CYCLOPS junction, the first of its kind in the region, will make it safer and quicker for people to get about. For far too long, too many people in our region have been forced to contend with a fragmented, under-funded public transport system that simply doesn’t work for them. Thanks to devolution, we’re working to change that by putting the ‘public’ back into public transport. Our residents
deserve a faster, cheaper, greener, and more reliable transport network that not only works for them but for our planet too.”
Steve Rotherham
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
