Velocity plans out to public consultation

With no notice for the members of Manchester's Cycle Forum Manchester City Council has put the plans for the "Airport Cycleway" and "Prestwich Cycleway" out to public consultation on their web site.

Members of Manchester Cycle Forum took part in a pre-consultation exercise to try and ensure the plans would be of good quality before they went out to public consultation. Unfortunately our objections to the very poor quality of the proposals were ignored and the plans that are being presented seem to be every bit as bad as the original proposals.

The photographs on this page give you some idea of just how poor the proposals are; rubbish temporary plastic armadillos, dangerous road narrowings, long delays at road crossings and unprotected junctions are featured - there is no sign of the good quality Dutch-style facilities of the original plans.

The closing date for comments is Monday 1 December 2014.




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These were my original objections to the Airport Cycleway

1) General Design

The proposed design lacks ambition for encouraging of cycling in the city and when judged on the five core principles of design for people walking and cycling, these being

* safety
* coherence
* directness
* comfort
* attractiveness

These proposals fail in part on all these principles. It also fails to take account of people with children in cycle trailers or people with disabilities who ride unconventional machines such as handcycles.

2) Barriers

The proposed K Gates http://www.kbarriers.co.uk/k-barrier-gate/ for the access off of Brooks Drive are totally unacceptable as part of the Velocity Proposals. These barriers prevent people with many different designs of bike and tricycle from getting through.

A quick question on twiter about experiences this type of barrier elicited some very negative responses.

For more on why this is a bad idea see
http://www.ctc.org.uk/article/cycling-guide/barriers-on-cycle-paths
http://www.leedscyclingcampaign.co.uk/sites/default/files/uglys%20Lucy_0.jpg

3) Shared Use Pavements

There are several long sections of low quality pavement in this proposal, particularly around Tuffley Road and Simonsway. Whilst short sections of pavement _may_ be acceptable to bridge a gap, long sections of pavement with untreated junctions are a complete waste of money. Most people will ride on the road because of the danger created at every side turning. They also create confusion and treat cycling as the lowest priority form of transport

For more information see
http://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/111/article11.html

4) "Light Segregation" aka Armadillos

The proposal to use small plastic humps to separate cycles from heavy traffic on the bridge over the M56 is totally unacceptable. This section of the route is one of the most dangerous and requires an extensive redesign of the junction as well as hard segregation.

Armadillos have failed to protect cycle lanes in Camden and Salford from encroaching motor vehicles.

See
http://madcyclelanesofmanchester.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/armadillos-dont-believe-hype.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv2xDZWqFzI

5) Junction Treatments

The proposal for the junction treatment at Altrincham Road is simply unacceptable. It forces cycles round a long diversion onto a staggered toucan crossing. This will add a considerable delay, possibly of over two minutes for anyone cycling. As a result it will not get used and people will cycle on the road.

Other junction treatments on this route are also poor.

6) Conclusion

These proposals do not achieve the standard I would have hoped for from the Velocity project and need to be considerably improved before they go out for public consultation.

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These were my original objections to the Prestwich Cycleway (previously known as the Prestwich City View Cycleway)

1) General Design

The proposed design lacks ambition for encouraging of cycling in the city and when judged on the five core principles of design for people walking and cycling, these being

* safety
* coherence
* directness
* comfort
* attractiveness

These proposals fail in part on all these principles. It also fails to take account of people with children in cycle trailers or people with disabilities who ride unconventional machines such as handcycles.

2) Coherence

This route completely fails to connect to the city centre. The route down Cheetham hill is not a cycle route at all, it is a busy road with a few token bits of green which will have no effect. This route is completely unsuitable. The failute to create a connection with the rest of this route just compounds the problem.

By contrast there is the possibility of connecting the centre of Manchester via Danzic Street and Collyhurst Road, but this has been completely ignored.

The routes also include Heaton park which is closed after dark. Such routes are totally usless for commuting in the winter.

3) Barriers

The proposed use of barriers is totally unacceptable as part of the Velocity Proposals.

For more on why this is a bad idea see
http://www.ctc.org.uk/article/cycling-guide/barriers-on-cycle-paths
http://www.leedscyclingcampaign.co.uk/sites/default/files/uglys%20Lucy_0.jpg

3) Shared Use Pavements

There are several sections of low quality pavement in this proposal. Whilst short sections of pavement _may_ be acceptable to bridge a gap, long sections of pavement with untreated junctions are a complete waste of money. Most people will ride on the road because of the danger created at every side turning. They also create confusion and treat cycling as the lowest priority form of transport and will face opposition from local people who walk on these pavements.

For more information see
http://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/111/article11.html

4) "Light Segregation" aka Armadillos

The proposal to use small plastic humps to separate cycles from heavy traffic in various places is totally unacceptable. These sections requires an redesign with hard segregation.

Armadillos have failed to protect cycle lanes in Camden and Salford from encroaching motor vehicles.

See
http://madcyclelanesofmanchester.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/armadillos-dont-believe-hype.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv2xDZWqFzI


6) Conclusion

These proposals do not achieve the standard I would have hoped for from the Velocity project and need to be considerably improved before they go out for public consultation.

If the proposals for Velocity are not improved they will face clear opposition from cycle campaigners.

Cycling - Penalty £500

Yes, there is one location in Manchester City Centre where you are threatened with a £500 fine for cycling.



It is this big open space in St Peter's Square.



Not that the signs say anything about driving, so you still have to watch out for the construction traffic, even on a Saturday.



The sickening thing is that this used to be a cycle route, it crossed into the square here



and ran across the front of the library here, but there is no sign of it now.



Ironically TfGM are still making use of this photo, taken on the cycle track where cycling is now banned. It is the background image on all their cycling web pages!



Update: It has been pointed out to me that this route is still marked on the Manchester cycling map. Another non-existent cycle route on the TfGM maps!




This is not the case in other squares in Manchester. If you go and take a look at the signs in Piccadilly Gardens




and in Albert Square they just say "No skateboarding or rollerskating."



So why the by-law against cycling in St Peter's Square?

I haven't been able to find out any more. Details of the council's by-laws aren't available on the council's web site, so I can only assume this getting caught in the crossfire in some knee-jerk reaction after the skateboarding on the war memorial.



If anyone does find out what is going on I'd really like to know. I've asked for this to go on the next Manchester Cycle Forum agenda and I'll keep asking around. It is simply dreadful that whilst one part of the City Council is trying to promote cycling other departments are doing their best to ban it.

P.S. Many thanks to Cllr Chris Paul for putting me on the trail of this one...

.@helenclifton @MadCycleLaneMCR @ManCityCouncil St Peter's Square - £500 fine pedalling through atm. A poor idea. CC is impermeable.
— Chris Paul (@ChrispLOL) October 23, 2014

Bolton's Non-Existent Cycle Route

Just north of the boundary between Bolton and Salford the cycle map for Bolton shows a cycle route on the north side of the M61 between Buckley Lane and Worsley Road.



This cycle route does not exist, and never has done. It is a fantasy dreamed up by somebody at Bolton Council or TfGM.

This is the thick woodland at the western end, no sign of a path here.



At the eastern end the alleged path goes straight on from here into the thick woodland.



If you look along the motorway you can see that this woodland is very thick and runs all along the north side of the motorway.


 

There is no cycle path here,  whatever Bolton or TfGM might think.

This may be yet another case of council officers believing that we can all cycle through trees.

Colliery Line - Highfield to Linnyshaw

This route picks up at the same place as Roe Green Loopline 3, M61 to Bolton and also connects with Roe Green Loopline 2, Walkden to the M61 by crossing the M61 on Anchor Lane.

It follows the route of a mineral line to the south of a housing estate in Highfeld. This line linked Brackley Colliery to the west and Ashton's Field Colliery to the east and then onwards, turning towards the south and finishing where it meets the A6 in Linnyshaw nearly 3 miles later.

The path starts just to the south of the houses on Anchor Road, to the north of the M61.



Initially path is very narrow, muddy and strewn with rubbish



and there is this dreadful set of barriers to add to the grim nature of the area.



However, within a few yards, the path improves



and after about 300yds the path crosses the line of the Roe Green Loopline, this track went underneath at this point. The turn to the left takes you to Bolton, keep to the right for this route.

Shortly after a short branch line turned off into the centre of Farnworth, just before the path is interupted by the newly built Pear Tree Drive, and turns into a pavement for a short while, via this dreadful barrier.



Just after the path escapes the road again,




for a short while



only to be interrupted again by Lucas Road. Here the path kinks to the right to regain the trackbed.



From here the path escapes the road for a while.



However, at some point the path goes away from the railway route to avoid the M61



finally ending up at Buckley Lane / Cleggs Lane where there is a wooden kissing gate to negotiate.



Here you have to turn right to cross the M61.

At this point the TfGM map shows a path continuing on this side of the motorway, but this is a cycling officer's hallucination, but more of that in another post.



Once across the motorway, turn left into the recently renovated Ashton's Field. This is the former site of Ashton Field's Colliery.



Turn to the left after the gate, and over this bridge.



Just beyond you will find this folly, a series of lock gates without a canal, supposedly reflecting the canals deep underground here in the coal mines.



The path carries on over another bridge



then heads towards Windmill Road. Just before, turn left through this very, very narrow barrier.



Now the path has returned to the railway trackbed and heads between houses on either side.



Gradually, the path decays with occasional potholes



and then at this point is forced up to the level of Worsley Road North, as the bridge ahead is blocked.



At the top of the ramp, turn left, then right across the road into a car park, and in the far right corner is this gate and barrier to negotiate before getting back to the path.



Once beyond you enter Blackleach Park.



Here the trackbed used to cross Blackleach Reservoir, but now the northern half is filled in, so the reservoir only exists on the right of the path.



The path is joined by a track from the left, and at the end of the resovoir, cross through the gap in the wooden fence and onto the track.



A little further along there was a junction with a track turning away to the left. This reaches a bridge over the M61 and a path using that bridge crosses here



and the route ahead is obstructed by another anti-cycling barrier.



Now the path degrades to a narrow dirt path, with a bridle-way on the right.



The path degrades further, till at the crossing with Mill Lane it has become very muddy. Here there are further anti-cycling barriers.



Beyond, the path is rough and muddy,



and soon reaches the A6 in Linnyshawwhere the path is very muddy, and turns to the left to reach road level via a narrow gap as the bridge has been filled in.



Running parallel to the A6 at this point is the Thirlmere Aqueduct which the path goes over to reach the road.



To the south, the path continues, but is too narrow and steep for a bicycle, so the only option here is the road.





View Highfield to Linnyshaw in a larger map

Ashton Canal 4 - Fairfield to Ashton

This two and a half mile stretch of path runs along the Ashton Canal towpath from the junction with the Hollingwood Branch Canal, known as Fairfield Junction to the junction with the Peak Forest Canal, Dunkfield Junction and on to the end of the canal towpath in Ashton, where it turns into the Huddersfield Canal. This is a continuation from Ashton Canal 3 - Clayton to Fairfield.

This section was ridden with Ian Tate, who features in many of these photographs.



The first bridge, under Fairfield Road, is very narrow and has an uneven surface, so take care.



Just beyond is this narrow path, turn right here



and a little way along you will find the Moravian Settlement, a weird time capsule of cobbled streets, founded by a religious sect.



Back on the canal, the path in this section is reasonably well surfaced, here it goes under Manchester Road.



Further along, near Lumb Lane, the canal widens, this section was realigned at this point.



Soon the canal passes under the M60, here we found a boat moored up in the shelter of the long bridge.



After passing under the railway, the canal has moorings on the far bank.



However, this is where the towpath dgrades badly, and the mud is quite bad here, and pretty dreadful after rain.



The morings end at the bridge under Hanover Street North.



Then after passing under the A6140 this disused railway bridge comes into view as the canal turns right.



This rather imposing structure takes the canal under Stockport Road,



and at this point the character of the canal changes, becoming a little less urban.



A little further along Ian disturbed this heron on the towpath. It settled on the far bank long enough for me to photograph it.



This pink, pedestrian bridge is at the end of Potteringer Street, and is the start of the final section of the canal.



This little bridge crosses over the entrance of Princess Dock.



Ian paused for a photo opportunity.



The next bridge goes under Margaret Street, next to the rather spectacular, 210ft high Junction Mills chimney.



After this bridge the path goes over this overspill into the River Tame



and then heads towards Portland Basin.



Here the warehouse was destroyed by fire in 1972, but has been rebuilt to house the Portland Basin Museum and, most importantly for those cycling or walking, the Bridge View Cafe.



A cobbled bridge takes the towpath over the entrance to the Peak Forest Canal.



If you want to get over to the cafe on the far bank



you will have to carry your pedal cycle up this set of steps and down more steps on the other side.



Beyond the foot bridge there are more moorings



and then the path is blocked, forcing you up this ramp.



This ramp emerges on Cavendish Street, opposite the Asda Supermarket which has been built across the start of the Huddersfield Canal.



This point effectively marks the end of the Ashton canal. From here the road system is pretty dreadful. The centre of Ashton has a dreadful one way system which is simply dreadful for cycling. From here it is possible to cross the town centre to reach the NCN 626 railpath to Oldham, but me and Ian ended up walking most of the way.


View Ashton Canal 4 - Fairfield to Ashton in a larger map