Grantham looks set for a raft of initiatives to boost cycling, including possible pedestrianisation and road closures in the town centre.

The town features in a list of changes for streets Lincolnshire County Council has revealed to make cycling and walking easier, and is asking for input from residents on further plans.

The Department for Transport granted the county council £105,500 from the first round of the Government's emergency active travel fund to support the installation of temporary projects during the recovery from Covid-19.

For the second round of funding, due to take place later this year, the council would like residents to help shape the longer-term projects.

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "This second tranche of funding is worth over £800,000 for Lincolnshire, so there is more scope for ambitious projects on our roads.

"This is why we'd like residents to let us know where they'd like to see new cycle lanes, widened paths, or road closures.

"Your ideas will help us shape the future of our streets and ensure that any changes we make are the most appropriate and useful to the community. You can also give us feedback on the changes we're making with the first round of funding –whether the temporary measures should be made permanent, or whether you think changes would be better suited elsewhere."

Residents can submit ideas for pavement widening, new cycleways or road closures online at www.widenmypath.com. The site allows users to pinpoint on a map where they would like to see changes.

To further help shape the plans, Lincolnshire County Council will host a virtual cycling summit with invited representatives from each district and local cycling clubs.

Cllr Davies continued: "We were disappointed that the Department for Transport only granted us half the funding we had applied for in the first round. However we're already working on our plans for the second round, to make sure we get as much money as possible to make these improvements.

"The virtual cycling summit will be an opportunity to have an open discussion with local representatives from across Lincolnshire. Bringing local knowledge into our plans will make sure they will have the most benefit to their area.

"When it comes to upgrading our cycling infrastructure, having a coordinated approach that allows cyclists to reach more destinations will have the biggest impact on increasing the rate of cycling and take traffic off our roads.

"The emergency active travel fund is just a part of our grand plans for cycling infrastructure in Lincolnshire. The cycling and walking plans we're producing for each town – which your suggestions on www.widenmypath.com will also help shape – will further drive forward sustainable travel in Lincolnshire. And we're working with North and North East Lincolnshire on a Greater Lincolnshire cycling programme to apply for more cycling infrastructure funding through the LEP."

The announcement of cycling and walking infrastructure improvements comes as the government launches its £50 Fix Your Bike voucher scheme to help further boost cycling.

The Fix Your Bike voucher scheme aims to encourage more people to embrace cycling as an alternative to driving or using public transport. The scheme will be open to anyone who has an unused bicycle in need of a repair, helping them get it back on the road by providing £50 towards the cost of a service and repair.

Using the Emergency active travel fund, work will start in the coming weeks on its first round interventions, .

They include road closures and pop-up cycle lanes in towns across the county.

In Grantham, this includes exploring options for pedestrianisation and temporary road closures in the town centre to provide more space for shoppers and safer routes for cyclists.

There would also be new cycle parking in Grantham.

Other projects could include Low Road and Dysart Road, Grantham – install give way islands to slow traffic and enable a safer cycle route.

The county council also says there is also potential to remove guardrails to provide more space for pedestrians and widen crossing area – at the junction of A52 and A607, Sankt Augustin Way, Grantham.