Humber Bridge reopens for cyclists and pedestrians

More than a month after their sudden closure, the footways on the Humber Bridge reopened to cyclists and pedestrians this morning. Cycling UK has been pressing the bridge Board to justify its decision to close this vital link to those using active travel, and welcomes this news – but there are still some caveats.

People on cycles or on foot can now cross the bridge between the hours of 5am and 9pm without the need to register in advance; however, anyone wishing to cross outside these hours will still need to send their details to bridge officials ahead of time. There still appears to be no mention of this on the main Humber Bridge website, however when Cycling UK made an enquiry via the toll payment site humbertag.com, a representative confirmed that in order to cross the footways between 9pm and 5am, people need to email [email protected] to register.

The closure of the footways early last month was, the Humber Bridge Board said, a response to a sharp rise in cases of people taking their own lives at the Bridge. Local press reports state that the reopening comes after improvements to CCTV systems and the establishment of a “wellbeing hub” staffed by volunteers.

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, commented: “For over a month the Humber Bridge has been closed to all pedestrians, and anyone cycling except those commuter cyclists who managed to get through a cumbersome registration process, so the reopening is welcome progress.

Banning people on foot or a bike from crossing the bridge was only ever a knee-jerk reaction which didn’t address the causes or long-term solutions

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK head of campaigns

"But the tragic loss of life along the bridge has been a chronic problem for more than a decade, requiring investment in long-term infrastructure and intervention measures. Banning people on foot or a bike from crossing the bridge was only ever a knee-jerk reaction which didn’t address the causes or long-term solutions.

"Cycling UK hopes that the Humber Bridge Board will at last recognise the importance of maintaining cycle and pedestrian access whilst improving suicide prevention measures, and if they must have a registration system for people to cross out of hours, make it simple and easily accessible, with registration and other restrictions being time limited rather than permanent."

• The Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day on 116123 or via samaritans.org