Crap Cycle Lanes of Trafford

Trafford Council hate to see people cycling on the road. They ensure that most of their cycle routes are shoved onto the pavement.

However, just to make sure that anyone who dares to cycle in Trafford gets the message loud and clear they put a few obstructions in the middle of the route.



Let's just say that someone in Trafford council is trying to say,



"get the hell out of here..."




View Larger Map

Fallowfield Loop - closures and openings.

Don't know how long it's been like this but today I found the bike/pedestrian crossing on the Fallowfield Loop at Sainsbury's is currently closed.



I could find no explanation for the closure,



And no alternative route was signposted. Not good.



Also a little further to the east, work has started on repairing the Lattice Bridge at the Loop entrance to Highfield country park.





Unfortunately this means that, even on a Sunday afternoon with no work taking place, the path is being used for vehicle parking.



However, the good news is that this means that two of the dreadful barriers have been opened.





Diversion notice and map from photos by Cos Harnasz.






Friends of the Fallowfield Loop

Irwell River Park - good news and not so good news

The good news is that Irwell River Park part 2 is now clear of the scaffolding that was almost blocking the path between the Regent Road Bridge and the Woden Street Footbridge.



Most of the rubble that had fallen onto the path has been cleared up and wider pedal cycles can now get through without difficulty.



Also the gardening works which had caused unnecessary blockages have now finished, and it is all a lot more pleasant for passing cyclists. The only problem has been for the local sparrows who have been displaced a few yards along into the remaining bushes now their original thicket has been removed.



The bad news is that works have started on Part 1 of the Irwell River Park. The link path from Trafford Wharf Road has been shut for no good reason that I can see,



and the fencing for the building site has been pushed out to narrow the path quite badly. This part can get quite busy at times and they could have left a lot more space.



And there have been problems with the lighting along this stretch too.



View Larger Map

87 pages of tokenism called "Cycling Issues in Manchester"

Which of these two cycle facilities is correct?



Answer, neither - both are examples of Manchester City Council's tokenism and bad design for cycling. Both are examples of public money being wasted.

The one on the right is one of the most dangerous cycle facilities in central Manchester, and almost all cyclists ignore it and cycle on the road.

And yet they are featured on page 12 in the latest 87 page document from Manchester City Council, entitled "Cycling Issues in Manchester" which will be discussed at the Manchester City Council Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee at 2pm on Tuesday 6th March.

Lets just say that the City Council needs to stop wasting money on sports events and start getting real about getting people out of their cars and onto bikes in the city. Discussing ways of forcing bikes onto pavements will just make matters worse.

Hat tip to the LYB email for this one.

BCF, "the voice of cycling" in Manchester, for ten years...

One of the vital pieces of information missing from the version of the Memorandum of Understanding between Manchester City Council and British Cycling released under my FoI request was the length of the agreement.

However, the City Council have now agreed that it isn't a secret after all. You see the information was made public back in September 2010 on the British Cycling Web Site.

The reply from the Council gives the full deleted text:-

I have made further enquiries and found that the deletion of the length of the agreement from the Memorandum of Understanding that I sent with my message of 15 February was a mistake as this information is not commercially sensitive and is already in the public domain.
I apologise for this error.

The relevant paragraph in the document is:

8. Duration
8.1 The duration of this Agreement shall be 10 (ten) years from the date of this Agreement.

This means that Manchester is stuck with having the BCF acting as the "voice of cycling" in Manchester until 28th September 2020!

So what are we going to be landed with as a result of this agreement? Well apart from the £28 motorway cycling tax being tried out in June this year, you might like to take a look at item 7.3 below...



It seems that Manchester City Council will be prioritising issues such as cycle racing on the public highway.

Which leaves me to wonder whether the council spends more money on cycle sport in this city than it does on providing for cycling on the streets. It's time for another FoI enquiry...

Bromptons Go Mad in Manchester

WTF on pinkbike.com

via LazyBicycle

The Great Manchester Cycle Charging Trial

The Great Manchester Cycle will take place on Monday 4 June 2012. It looks like a trial of a new innovative congestion charging scheme for bicycles in Greater Manchester. On the day cyclists will be charged a whopping £28 each to cycle a fixed route around Manchester, Trafford and Salford.

All cyclists using the route will be also required to wear wear a cycle helmet that is Snell, CE or ANSI approved and must keep above minimum speeds of 7mph, 13mph or 18mph depending on how many laps they ride.


The web site however doesn't say whether the entire route, including access points such as the MediaCity footbridge will be closed to non-paying cyclists. Something that would seriously inconvenience cycle commuters in the area.

Looks like another bad idea from the BCF and MCC.

Just imagine the outcry if Manchester City Council proposed charging drivers £28 per day to use the Mancunian way...