Bolton is in line for almost £5m towards active travel in the town centre after the approval of a scheme by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The improvements to the cycling, walking and wheeling network include Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS) junctions in the same style as those at the junctions of Bradshawgate/Bridgeman Place/Manchester Road/Trinity Street or Newport Street/Trinity Street, as well as cycle lanes, cycle parking and other work.

Last Friday, Andy Burnham and other members of the combined authority including Bolton Council leader Nick Peel approved almost £5m towards the scheme, as well as similar multi-million-pound sums towards other schemes in Oldham and Trafford, from a Mayor's Challenge Fund (MCF) set up around five years ago.

They also approved almost £4.5m towards Bee Network crossings, which aim to improve crossings on some of the busiest roads across all 10 boroughs.

It came at around the same time as Active Travel England awarded £20m to the region from its Active Travel Fund for further investment in the future.

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In a statement, Mr Burnham said: "The scale of our ambition in transforming how people get around is huge with a target for one million extra journeys being made on public transport or by bike or foot every day by 2040.

"To meet this challenge head-on we are delivering our transformational Bee Network, which will make travelling cheaper, easier and more accessible and will connect our trams and buses – and ultimately train services – with the largest cycling, walking and wheeling network anywhere in the UK.

"It is great news all 10 of our boroughs will benefit from more than £40m being invested in active travel schemes across the city-region."

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According to a Transport for Greater Manchester website, which includes maps of all the active travel schemes across the city-region, there are plans for CYCLOPS junctions at the junctions of Bradshawgate/Great Moor Street and Bridge Street/St George's Street, as well as crossings across the town centre.

There are plans for cycle lanes across the town centre and cycle parking at the bottom of Knowsley Street.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.