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

About Face

It's nice to see the care and attention given to cycle lanes...



Here the ever useful "END" word and bike sign have been painted upside down from the point of view of anyone using the lane.



Not that the average person on a bike takes any notice of the lane.


View Larger Map

Fallowfield Loop - the Sainsbury's Tunnel

Having found a reference to a tunnel under the road at Sainsbury's, I had a nose round with the camera today.

Sure enough, you can see the two ends and some of the infrastructure joining the tunnel to the Fallowfield path.

From the west the tunnel is approached by the side of the buildings on the railway bed.



The entrance can be seen, blocked by gates.



From the east the giveaway to its location is the cycle track in the middle of the vehicle ramp



which connects to the gap in the kerb...



Behind the wall is the cycle route



which would have entered the tunnel here.



The designer has removed his version from his web site, so sadly we don't know if he thought this was a good idea or not.

This all begs the question, just how much money was spent on this tunnel and who ended up paying for it?

Update: a follower on twitter has found the text for the deleted web page on the Wayback Machine, so we can now see what he wrote, though the pictures are now sadly lost.


View Fallowfield Loop Tunnel in a larger map

Whitworth Street West - Eastbound

This one is a cycle lane that starts narrow outside the Hacienda.



It then opens out to go on the outside of several parking spaces.

This doesn't look too bad unless you've known someone who's been hit by a car door.

Anyone riding a bike this close to a parked car is in danger of being hit by a door being flung open, so this kind of cycle lane has real problems, since the safe place to ride is further out.



One has to wonder if the designer of this lane was aware of the danger, because a little further along the lane kinks out to a more appropriate position.



However, a bit further along the lane seems to run out, level with the estate agents' offices.



And returns only to perform this mad little kink left, to accommodate two lanes of motorvehicles at the traffic lights.



It seems little changed from the Whitworth Street West Consultation Plan see the bottom plan, except that the 0.5m buffer zone, also mentioned in the covering letter, has failed to materialize on the ground. Without that buffer zone this lane, and others along this road are far more dangerous than they should have been.


View Larger Map