Deansgate Closed for Cycling

 Manchester City Council have allowed contractors to close Deansgate northbound for cycling for electrical works.

 #cyclistsdismount

Village Circle Roundabout & Sir Alex Fergusion Way - Trafford

I've been seeing reports from people who cycle through the tram works at Village Circle Roundabout and Sir Alex Fergusion Way in Trafford that the area is now very dangerous for people walking and cycling.



People have reported that the traffic lights have not been working for several weeks and there has been at least one pedestrian has been knocked over and injured and driver behavior is pretty dreadful. The issue is going to be raised at Trafford Cycle Forum and complaints have been sent to TfGM and Trafford council.



I have also seen dreadful behavior by contractors in the area, parking and driving on cycle tracks and pavements is a daily occurrence.

Manchester's Flagship Cycleway?

I don't think I've ever been along Oxford Road on a bike without having to swerve into the road to avoid taxis, roadworks or other obstructions.




The taxi drivers block it all the time.



This is also a common occurrence.



The roadworks never seem to stop.



When combined with taxis it makes the cycle way almost pointless.

Wilmslow Road Northbound - 2 videos

Not sure this needs any words... it's just unbelievable.



Watch out for the way that motor cycles have been parked on the cycle track...



Once Oxford Road has been sorted I suspect this will be chaos.

Digging up Liverpool Road - again...

As if there are not enough potholes in Manchester, somebody is digging new holes in Liverpool Road. The road has only recently been resurfaced, so this is damaging good tarmac.



The holes are rectangular and quite shallow.



Some longer ones have appeared across the minor junctions...



This doesn't look good - it looks like more pathetic tokenism to come...

Roadworks blocking cycle routes

Most contractors carrying out roadworks couldn't care less about cycling.

This is the site of the Ordsall Chord works in Water Street carried out by Network Rail.

Going south west...



and in the opposite direction



Totally blocked!



And then further along the traffic lights have been dumped in the new cycle lane.

The Cycle Route into a Bus Sandwich - Portland Street is really bad!

The plans for Portland Street were always pretty dreadful, and unlike Oxford Road, our replies to the consultation were completely ignored, and the dangerous designs have been implemented with very few changes.

This set of images follows on from last November's post Portland Street - is this Manchester's most dangerous cycle lane?

The cycle route from here is just an advisory cycle lane.



It even disappears at pedestrian crossings!



As you approach the junction with the bus station things get really bad. First there is this nasty interaction with the taxi rank,



then there is this dreadful 90 degree right turn to get across the bus lane.

This section is very dangerous. It will be far safer to cycle in the bus lane!



However, this is where it gets bonkers...

On Saturday 6th February the cycle lane carried on like this.






However, by yesterday it had become a hole in the ground! I understand there had been an invitation-only meeting at TfGM where this had been discussed, but this is just rearranging the deckchairs whilst the ship sinks. TfGM failed to listen the first time round and now public money is being wasted digging up what has already been installed.



The next section is still in place,



which leads to the tram crossing



and then more intermittent advisory cycle lane leads to the next dreadful design error.



Here you can see how the road has been narrowed, creating a narrow section of cycle lane



which is directly in the path of turning vehicles



as this bus driver demonstrated.



Then we lead into the bus sandwich.



Here you are directed into the gap between the bus stop and the bus lane



before arriving at a token ASL.



The last section is still under construction, so watch this space.



How long before someone gets badly hurt?

The safest position to be in all the way along Portland Street will be the middle of the bus lane, totally avoiding these dreadful cycle lanes.

Cycle Facilities vs Roadworks

There was a fairly positive but brief discussion at the recent Manchester Cycle Forum this week about the problems of cycle facilities at roadworks. As one officer put it, at the moment contractors just put up Cyclist Dismount signs and think that's it.... They are working on guidelines for contractors to be issued by Manchester City Council and then shared across all the GM councils via TfGM.

Here are two bad examples I found today. First on Middlewood Street, opposite the armadillos.

The first thing you see, at the incorrect NCN6 sign are the roadworks and road narrows signs.



Further up is the lazy Cyclists Dismount sign, as the pedestrians are pushed out onto the cycle lane.



Pedestrians are then supposed to rejoin here, only to find a car blocking the pavement further up.



The other was someone digging a dirty great big hole in the cycle track by Sackville Street.



I suspect there are many more around the place, hopefully not for too much longer.

Ashton Canal Update

A quick update on the resurfacing of the Ashton Canal towpath as part of the Velocity 2025 works. We managed to walk the entire canal today in the sunshine and saw the progress being made. The first section of the canal path is unchanged.



There was some litter picking and planting being done by volunteers around New Islington.



The sections of cobbles at the locks are as bad as ever, and getting worse with the water and frost damage over the winter.



The Cyclists dismount signs have not been removed.



The wide section of path along the side of the Football Academy is now beginning to look good with the new trees planted. This was not part of the Velocity works.



Unfortunately the anti-cycling barriers have not been removed - this is the only one where the gate remains locked, though wider machines can get a bit more space on the right.



The new section of tarmac starts just after Clayton Lane.



Though the cobbles are not being covered, which is dangerous.



What this does mean is that it is now possible to reach the Stockport Branch Canal route from the centre of Manchester without having to cycle through mud.



At Crabtree Lane there is more sign of the work being in progress.



Along this section some of the locks didn't have cobbles so the path is fully tarmaced.



Again the barriers have not been removed.



The tarmac currently runs out at the Marina in Fairfield, the junction with the old Holinwood Branch Canal.



The path is gravel from here awaiting the tarmac finish.



After the bridge under Market Street, the tarmac returns. Care is needed at this point as it is the works base. It is good to see that they are using the canal to transport the stone from this point.



Unfortunately whilst the path itself is going to have a high quality finish for most of the way, the same can't be said for the access paths at the moment.



The tarmac ends just before the Hill Lane bridge.



From here some sections have yet to get the gravel foundation.



The last section of gravel



ends at the bridge under the M60 motorway.



From here on there has been nothing done to the path and e saw several people cycling gingerly through the mud.



Those on road and touring bikes were not doing at all well.



The path is very bad in places.



The last section through Guide Bridge isn't too bad



and the sign just before the junction with the Peek Forest Canal suggests that the resurfacing will get this far.



For updates on the path works and closures you can go to the Canal and River Trust web site.