Castlefield Utilities/Cycle Bridge Scheme Update...

Back in February I took a look at the progress of the Castlefield Utilities/Cycle Bridge Scheme and following my FoI request to Manchester City Council I discovered that it had not been built to the plans submitted to Manchester City Council. Apparently my request triggered a flurry of activity to try and sort the mess out.

Then a couple of months ago I went to a public PR exercise by the Network Rail Northern Programme at MOSI about the Ordsall Chord. There I was told that work was going to take place to fix the problems that had been highlighted by Salford and Manchester Councils and these works would be completed by 14th October and on that date Princes Street bridge would be closed and demolition would begin...

So works on the Ordsall Chord are already running over a month late as Princes Bridge is still open.



Though works have taken place on the Salford side.



On Trinity Way southbound, the cycle lane is now subsumed into the pavement before the junction.



The cycle crossing has been retained, but now without the jug-handle approach and the shared use pavement has been widened under the bridge.



Coming out from under the bridge a new yellow sign directs you back into the cycle lane for Trinity Way, but over the new bridge for NCN route 6.



However, the new bridge is still closed.



Access to the towpath is also still blocked, and the zig-zag down to the towpath is dreadful.



The cycle lane is still open along Trinity way and the pavement has now reopened.



At the other end of the new bridge the pavement has been reshaped slightly, but it is still not according to the original design which would have involved the cost of moving the BT box on the corner.



The Manchester end of the bridge is also blocked off. Note the obsession with telling people to slow down!



On the corner of Trinity way and Water Street there is a yellow CYCLISTS DISMOUNT sign with room for another sign above. It is not at all clear what this sign applies to.



Going left round into Water Street the pavement has been resurfaced, removing the  slippery concrete paving.



The shared use pavement ends in a right angled turn into a new, narrow cycle lane



which comes to an abrupt end long before the junction with Liverpool Road.



On the opposite side of the road a new and wider cycle lane starts just after the coach parking bays.



Though this Moxons coach was parked on top of it.



Past the junction with New Elm Road the cycle lane narrows abruptly



just before the fork left to the Trinity Way crossing.



The cycle lane then turns sharp left into the pavement.



This then takes you up to the traffic lights at Trinity Way.



Here there is another yellow CYCLISTS DISMOUNT sign along with a NCN 6 sign pointing across the pedestrian crossing



This explains why there are CYCLISTS DISMOUNT signs. Manchester City Council has failed to insist that Network Rail Northern Programme upgrade the crossing to shared use.



So the diversion of NCN 6 for the removal of Princes Bridge is still a cock up and now features the we-couldn't-give-a-shit CYCLISTS DISMOUNT signs that simply shouldn't be allowed.

#fail

Castlefield Utilities/Cycle Bridge Scheme

Now as far as I understand it, this bridge is supposed to be the temporary replacement for Princes Bridge, part of NCN route 6, when Network Rail demolish it to build the Ordsall Chord rail link.

It is also a replacement bridge to carry the utilities across the River Irwell.

However, since the whole Ordsall Chord Scheme is still awaiting the results of a public inquiry, this bridge may or may not have been necessary...



From the Salford side of the river, it is clear that a lot of money has been spent on this Bridge and the path on this side has been extensively reworked to change the level of the towpath.



In fact the towpath has been split in two to accommodate the ramps, and the new bridge has been finished off to match the road bridge.



The surface itself includes bollards at both ends, presumably to stop some idiot trying to drive a car over the bridge.



The bridge links back to the road bridge on the Manchester side,



and then crosses the pavement and dumps you in the eastbound cycle lane...



Yes, you've got it, there is no legal way of getting onto the bridge from the Manchester direction!



From Water Street you have no chance of getting across.



The only option seems to be the pedestrian crossing,



or crossing Water Street onto the pavement at the entrance to the car park



and cycling along here illegally.



It seems that Network Rail have failed to put in the rest of the two way cycle track needed to get the route round to Water Street, which should have gone across this patch of mud.



This bridge is an expensive failure. It will result in many people being forced to cycle illegally along the pavement. I don't know who got to see these plans before they were signed off, but I do remember them being mentioned in a GMCC meeting, so I am pretty sure I know where some of the blame lies.

Meantime preparations have started to demolish Princes Bridge and Network Rail have chosen to block the cycle route...

Salford Anti-Cycling Barriers - Trinity Way

Here was today's WTF moment....

Looking across from Hampson Street towards Princes bridge these dirty great big barriers are cutting right across the cycle route.



The view from the other side.



It seems the anti-cycling brigade have been at it again.

The cycle lane southbound on Trinity Way has been completely blocked to the north.



At this point there is a gap in the barriers for the pedestrian crossing, but no concession for those cycling.



To the south the jug-handle crossing has also been blocked.




You can still stop the traffic by pressing the button, but it is completely blocked.



Some idiot clearly couldn't give a shit about this busy cycle route and Salford Council don't seem to care either. This is National Cycle Network Route 6.



What with the blockage of the Irwell Towpath here as well it is now pretty difficult to get through this area.

Ordsall Chord goes to Public Enquiry

Notices have appeared around Princes Bridge (NCN6) saying that the Ordsall Chord scheme, which would see the removal of Princes Bridge, has gone to a public enquiry. It looks like this may have been triggered by English Heritage who in their application to the secretary of state to halt the scheme concluded: ‘the necessity of causing substantial harm to individual designated heritage assets and to the historic environment in general has not been demonstrated, as there is an alternative route which is technically and operationally viable.’

The quality of the proposed temporary cycle route was not going to be good.



The enquiry will commence at the Mechanics Institute at 10am on the 23rd April.

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Update 18/4/14 New notices give some more information

NCN Route 6 closed for the rest of the year

I discovered today that National Cycle Network Route 6 will be closed on Liverpool Road from 14th October for at least 3 months. It turns out that United Utilities will be closing Liverpool Road and Water Street entirely for around 3 months. Whilst there will still be narrow pedestrian access there will be no provision for cycling whilst the first phase of work is carried out. Anyone cycling along Water Street or along Liverpool Road will have to get off and walk around the junction.



In the new year there may be provision for people cycling to get between Princes Bridge and Liverpool Road along Woollam Place, but don't hold your breath.

So if you regularly use Liverpool Road and Princes Bridge you may find yourself being sent on long unpleasant diversions via Mancunian Way, Chester Road, Bridgewater Viaduct, Deansgate, Quay Street and Water Street and vice versa.

If you are on a bicycle you can get off and push along the pavement, but anyone who uses a trike or trailer may have to go round the long way because the pavements are going to be very narrow at the junction.

UPDATE: this is the diversion which is going to be posted by United Utilities - it's 3/4 mile long and goes up and down a hill.


View Water Street Diversion in a larger map

8 Month Closure of Liverpool Road - NCN6

United Utilities are about to close the junction of Liverpool Road and Water Street from the middle of August 2013 for approximately 8 months.

This is part of National Cycle Network route 6. It is a busy cycle commuter route and links to Princes Bridge.



The reason is a large amount of work to improve the sewers.

"When it pours down in Manchester, the sewer system can quickly fill up with rainwater. Once the sewer pipes are full, this water, containing diluted sewage, has to go somewhere and at the moment spills into the Manchester Ship Canal... We will be installing an underground chamber with filters, to block out items that should not enter the Manchester Ship canal on those rare occasions that the sewers do overflow."

I spoke to the team from United Utilities when they were on site and they are only planning to close the road itself. The pavements will still be open. However, they did not know whether there are any plans to allow people to cycle on the pavement instead.

However, on a positive note, the closure will make Liverpool Road a much nicer cycle route without all those drivers rat-running through the area. That is if United Utilities remember to block the rat run via New Elm Road and along the cobbles on Potato Wharf. If they don't there will be colisions at the junction of Liverpool Road and Potato Wharf and the cobbles will just get ripped up by the heavy traffic.


View Closure of NCN6 in a larger map

Princes Bridge - "it has not been possible to provide a direct route"

Back in March...

Following on from last year's consultation, Network rail say that the future of Princes Bridge was a key issue for many people. They say they are "committed to providing a replacement crossing which maintains connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists (both short and long term)."

"Talks are ongoing with both Manchester City Council and Salford City Council as to what the bridge might look like, and where an appropriate location might be."

Now, only 2 months later we get this...

The construction of Ordsall Chord will take 2 years, with a planned start date of Winter 2014 and a completion date of Winter 2016. In order to build the Ordsall Chord structures the existing Prince’s Bridge crossing will need to be removed. Once construction is complete, a permanent replacement crossing will be provided. During construction a temporary route is required for pedestrians and cyclists. Prince’s Bridge carries a number of utilities which also need to be diverted permanently. The current plan for this is to build a dedicated utilities bridge adjacent to Castlefield Bridge.

We have considered a number of options for diversion routes, including providing a temporary dedicated crossing facility and diverting pedestrians and cyclists eastbound along Trinity Way towards Quay Street. Both of these options have had to be dismissed. Due to the location of compound sites, on either side of the River Irwell, it has not been possible to provide a direct route, that is safe and that does not conflict with construction traffic. The need to provide ramps to access and egress a temporary bridge means that any journey time savings would be minimal. The routes around the compound sites were indirect and isolated so the safety of both cyclists and pedestrians was also a concern. The eastbound diversion along Trinity Way towards Quay Street has been dismissed as during construction traffic management measures will be in place during certain periods, which may impact upon the cycle lanes and footways along the stretch of Trinity Way between Hampson Street and Irwell Street.

The only other viable diversion route is to divert cyclists along Castlefield Bridge (between Hampson St and Water St). Castlefield Bridge has good existing cycle and pedestrian infrastructure provision with footways and cycle lanes on either side of the carriageway. The key conflict points are at the Water Street / Trinity Way junction and the Hamspon Street / Trinity Way junctions. There is an area underneath the rail bridge on Trinity Way (south west of Hampson St) where space is tight. We have identified a number of options to improve safety for diverted pedestrians and cyclists. We are also looking at the option of making use of the planned new utility crossing, by provided an unsegregated shared pedestrian / cycle route on top of the crossing.

The diversion plans provide different options for how the diversion route could work with the aim of providing a safe route for both pedestrians and cyclists. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

If you wish to make any comments on the proposals for the *cycle route diversions* please send them to James Shanks at Parsons Brinckerhoff shanksja@pbworld.com before Saturday 25th May.

For anyone going down the Irwell path it will be easier and quicker to cross the river on the A57 Regent Road and go down the steps.


View Larger Map

Princes Bridge "will be removed"

In their latest newsletter on the subject Network rail have confirmed that Princes Bridge will be removed as part of the building of the Ordsall Chord, the new rail line to link Manchester Picadilly with Salford Central and Manchester Victoria stations.



Following on from last year's consultation, Network rail say that the future of Princes Bridge was a key issue for many people. They say they are "committed to providing a replacement crossing which maintains connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists (both short and long term)."

"Talks are ongoing with both Manchester City Council and Salford City Council as to what the bridge might look like, and where an appropriate location might be."



Lets just hope we don't end up with the usual low grade rubbish there is elsewhere on NCN6. Both council's have a track record of installing expensive anti-cycling barriers on bridges that exclude many people.