More than £350,000 is to be spent improving facilities for cyclists at railway stations in Kirklees.
The Department for Transport is to spend £16 million across the country to encourage cyclists to take the train.
A new ‘cycle park’ is to be built on Platform 1 at Huddersfield Railway Station including sheltered storage with seating and a bike repair workstation.
An additional 54 cycle racks will be installed with wheel ramps on the stairs.
At Mirfield and Batley, officials are proposing to replace the cobbled roads leading up to both stations, create more car parking spaces and build wheel ramps.
In Dewsbury there will also be a new ‘cycle park’ with two-tier cycle racks, effectively multi-storey parking for bikes.
The investment was given a cautious welcome by cycling champion and Mirfield Tory councillor Martyn Bolt, one of the organisers of the Huddersfield Criterium bike race.
“This is a step in the right direction but the improvements must be linked to an education and awareness campaign,” he said.
“It is no good providing these facilities and not telling people and giving them help in how to use them.”
Clr Bolt, a Yorkshire regional councillor for the cycling charity CTC, said there was no doubt combining bike and train could speed up the commute but there were still barriers to overcome.
“It will take more than cycle racks to encourage people out of their cars and onto bikes and trains.
“We have to persuade people of the benefits because every driver that cycles instead would create a large amount of extra road space.”
Clr Bolt, who had a touring bike worth £1,000 stolen from a bike store at Manchester Victoria station, said CCTV and security was also paramount.
“When my bike was stolen someone must have cut the lock with a bolt cropper,” he said. “There was CCTV at the station but no coverage of the bike store.”
Commuters at Mirfield station have complained at a lack of parking spaces and leave cars in surrounding streets, sparking conflict with residents and businesses.
The Friends of Mirfield Railway Station has been set up to campaign for improvements, including proper disabled access, and Clr Bolt said he hoped the Department for Transport would liaise with the group and the rail companies before pushing ahead with its plans.
The department will spend £91,000 at Huddersfield station and will protect the ‘semi-enclosed’ cycle park with CCTV and improved lighting.
At Mirfield and Batley a combined £190,000 has been allocated for 30 more parking spaces and 60 metres of platform access wheeling ramps. The cobbled access roads will also go.
It is not clear how many parking spaces will be created at each station or where they would be.
In Dewsbury £77,397 will build a “robust shelter” with the two-tier racks where one bike is stored on top of another. There will also be CCTV, better lighting and signage.
