Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander used her speech at Active Travel England’s Making Active Places conference in Manchester on 22 September 2026 to make a wider point: walking, wheeling and cycling should no longer sit at the edge of transport policy. In the government’s framing, they are part of an integrated system, linking homes, schools, bus stops, rail stations and high streets rather than serving as a nice extra for places that already work well. (gov.uk) For Eco Current readers, that is the real story. According to WHO Europe, active mobility improves mental and physical health, reduces congestion, improves urban air quality and helps cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Read that way, this was not simply a transport speech. It was a speech about cleaner air, healthier streets and daily travel that costs households less. (who.int)

Manchester was presented as proof that this can work at city scale. The Bee Network began as an active travel plan before growing into a broader public transport system, and official Greater Manchester reporting says residents made more than 700 million active travel trips in 2025. The same reporting found around 7,000 cyclists a day on Oxford Road in October 2025, up from roughly 2,000 a day before a segregated cycleway was put in place. (gov.uk) That matters because it answers a familiar doubt about demand. Where routes feel safe, direct and connected, more people use them. The climate gain and the public-health gain arrive together, one redesigned corridor at a time. (democracy.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk)

The Manchester pitch sits inside a much bigger national programme. In June 2026, the government published the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, known as CWIS3, projecting more than £4.5 billion of active travel investment between 2025 and 2030, including £1.1 billion for Active Travel England. (gov.uk) The targets are clear enough to judge. By 2035, the strategy aims for 55% of all short stages in towns and cities to be walked or cycled, while 60% of children aged 5 to 16 should usually walk or cycle to school. Ministers have also said the next five years should bring 5,000 new walking, wheeling and cycling routes and 10,000 safer crossings. (gov.uk)

One of the strongest signals is not the headline spending figure but where power is meant to sit. Funding allocations published in July 2026 send active travel money to local transport authorities for 2026 to 2030, covering construction, network planning, early design and community engagement. DfT’s Better Connected strategy, published in April 2026, also makes healthier communities and stronger local leadership part of the transport brief. (gov.uk) That gives councils and mayors a straightforward test. Better pavements, safer crossings near schools, clear wayfinding and simpler links to buses, trams and trains are the details that decide whether a route feels usable, especially for children, older people and disabled residents. Active Travel England’s own guidance says pavements should be safe, comfortable and accessible while also creating places where people can move and spend time with confidence. (activetravelengland.gov.uk)

Alexander used the Manchester speech to announce £104 million for the National Cycle Network. According to Active Travel England, the network stretches for more than 12,000 miles across the UK, and the new funding is intended to maintain and expand routes, repair bridges, improve signage and develop new links around HS2. (gov.uk) That may sound less dramatic than a ribbon-cutting photo, but it is where many networks stand or fall. A broken bridge, poor surface or missing sign can turn a practical short trip into a car trip, so maintenance matters as much as expansion. The real test now is whether the network becomes easier for ordinary local trips, not only leisure cycling. (activetravelengland.gov.uk)

The speech also tried to place active travel inside a wider conversation about safety, confidence and local high streets. Alexander linked better street design to lower congestion, safer roads and stronger town and city centres, while Active Travel England’s current delivery plan says it will support councils with guidance and training to make streets safer for women and girls. (gov.uk) WHO’s evidence points in the same direction from a health perspective: people are more likely to walk and cycle when the environment feels safe, and the benefits run from disease prevention to cleaner air and quieter streets. For planners, that means safety cannot stop at painted lanes. It needs good junctions, readable signage, lower speeds and routes that still feel workable after dark or with a wheelchair, buggy or child in tow. (who.int)

This leaves active travel in a stronger place than it was even a few years ago. The official language has shifted from isolated cycling schemes to a transport system that treats walking, wheeling and cycling as part of daily mobility, backed by a national strategy, devolved funding and a fresh National Cycle Network package. (gov.uk) The opportunity is real, but delivery will decide whether this becomes cleaner air on the school run or just another well-staged conference line. If local leaders turn the money into direct, safe links between homes, schools, shops and public transport, the payoff will be visible quickly: lower congestion, better health and streets people actually want to use. (who.int)