You may have seen the new joint pedestrian and cycle path as you have been driving past Anagh Coar recently.

I took my folding bike out to test this new path to see if it works.

This path, among others, is part of the government’s active travel strategy plan, cycle lanes, improvements to existing public footpaths and new crossings have been and will continue to be installed over the next few years.

The plan is that by encouraging people to walk and cycle to work instead of driving, carbon emissions will decrease and congestion on the already busy roads will lessen.

And of course regular exercise is great for our physical health and mental wellbeing.

It can then join up with other public footpaths, like the nunnery path which takes you into Douglas.

Matthew Draper, who works at Cycle 360, said: ’Leisure routes are continuously being improved, most notably the work done to make the railway line more family friendly, as it’s far smoother than it has been in the past.

’It also allows far better connections along from Douglas to Peel, and with work being done on the Kirk Michael sections to improve it allows a better connected cycling network throughout the island.’

This path starts with a toucan pedestrian crossing which is a really good idea. You don’t have to get off your bicycle, you can cycle across the road and be on your way down the hill.

But crossing at the lights is harder if you’re coming up the hill because the gates on the Anagh Coar side have a narrower gap that a wider or longer bicycle (like mine) would struggle to get through unless you pushed it through.

The path is smooth, it has fencing on both sides which isn’t quite high enough to protect you from flying golf balls or stray footballs but it’s enough.

It’s far more picturesque than cycling down New Castletown Road because you can see people playing golf and have a nosey into people’s back gardens.

And, obviously, on a day like the day I tested it (Friday) enjoy 400 metres of blazing sunshine.

It is quite steep if you’re going from Pulrose to Anagh Coar up the hill but going down the hill is so much more fun.

You do have to be careful of the corner that takes you from being parallel to the road to the back of the houses as it’s quite sharp and if you’re not careful, you could end up in a tree.

It’s definitely wide enough for people to walk or cycle in pairs, as long as you’re aware of people coming from the opposite direction.

As I was testing out this new cycle lane, there was a woman walking along it and she said it was the first time she had used it, but it was ideal for her because it has created a shortcut for her to get to work.

She also liked it, because for people who live in Anagh Coar, the path dodges the main road and Quarterbridge and provides a much safer alternative.

The end of the path is at the junction to Springfield Road and there isn’t a cycle lane connecting to it, so after this path you are on your own.

But never fear, because I have cycled the route and this short path does actually link up to others.

It just takes a bit of time to get your wheels round it.

Once you’ve completed your 4oom descent into the middle of Pulrose, you are then left with two options.

Turn left and carry on down Springfield Road and then join up to Groves Road, cycle along until you reach the power station and join up to the green cycle path that takes you into town or cut through The Bowl car park and join up to the railway line from the back of the National Sports Centre.

Or (and this is my preferred option), turn right and then right again on to Alder Road, follow the road round to Manor Park School and cycle down the road to the NSC and Pulrose Bridge.

Of course, this only works properly when Pulrose bridge is fully open.

Then from there, as before, you can link up to the green cycle paths on Peel Road or the railway line.

Matthew added: ’The cycle lanes are good but the maintenance of them could be better.

’The sheer volume of people using them though is a good sign, and this is only going to increase with the sales of e-bikes rising.

’More infrastructure is needed though as there are people who still feel unsafe on the roads due to the lack of segregation especially on the routes into towns.’

The government’s other scheme to help get people to use other forms of transport is the Cycle 2 Work scheme.

The scheme means that employers buy a bicycle of the employee’s choice and then the employee purchase it from the employer through monthly payments from their salary.

The scheme has been very popular and has seen a large take up of people getting involved with it.

Matthew said: ’The uptake on the Cycle 2 Work scheme has been extensive.

’Around 100 completed C2Ws in the last six months has meant the scheme has been a success.

’Alongside that, private companies have set up their own benefit in kind schemes which means they don’t have to jump through the sometimes awkward hoops government set up.’

The government has managed to improve the safety and accessibility of Douglas and the railway line to everyone.

It remains to be seen whether this will encourage more people to get out and about.