Irwell River Path Gate Locked

The Irwell River Path has been closed for over 24 hours now by a gate that has been locked since the wind blew up yesterday.

The gate is at Exchange Quay inder the bridge that carries the tram line over from Pomona.

I found it locked at about 5pm on the 12th.



At about 9am it was still locked,



as it was at around 6pm on the 13th.



This is inconveniencing many commuters who walk or cycle to work along this path along with others who use it for other purposes.

This is not the gate that is locked at 8pm every night...

Salford Council this isn't good enough!


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UPDATE

After poking and prodding Salford Council by severa different routes the path finally reopened some time on Friday. It had been closed for around 48 hours.

Locked Gates on the Irwell again

The gates under the Trafford Road bridge were locked all day today.

This was 08:40 this morning



and this was 18:40 this afternoon



Notice that you can access the path on both sides of the gate, so they are doing nothing except pissing off people trying to get to and from work.

Salford City Council should remove these gates all together.


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Updated Signs - Irwell River Park Opening Hours

Two years after Salford Council first extended the opening hours of the Irwell River Path the signs have finally been updated. It is now only a couple of weeks till the summer hours anyway, so too late to make a difference this year.



However, the update it looks a bit unofficial, as someone has just put gaffer tape over the incorrect parts of the sign. And before you ask, no it wasn't me, though I had given it some thought...

It is about time Salford Council started promoting this path properly along with the rest of the Irwell River Park. This route isn't even on the TfGM cycle maps and isn't featured on any of the cycling journey planners.

This is one of the best little paths in Greater Manchester and this morning it was wonderful in the sunshine. Even better was the sound and sight of two lapwings over Ordsall, though they had gone by the time I got my camera out.

Don't Believe the Signs - Irwell River Park Opening Hours

For the first two days of November it looks like Salford Council are following last year's pattern and keeping the Irwell River Park open as per the summer opening hours.

For the second year running they have failed to amend the signs on the path...



This means that most people will avoid the path, even though it is open. Like the Fallowfield loop and its OTT barriers, this means that the path is underused and thus feels less safe.

It is about time Salford Council started promoting this path properly along with the rest of the Irwell River Park. This route isn't even on the TfGM cycle maps and isn't featured on any of the cycling journey planners.

Irwell River Path Gates - locked again

The gates on the Irwell River Path have been locked all day today. Strangely it was only the set under the Trafford Road bridge, as if the gates further down have not been locked overnight.

If this is the case then it is totally pointless locking the gates at all.



Around a quarter to nine this morning...



and six this evening.

I have been informed that Quaywatch manage the gated access along the Ordsall stretch on behalf of Salford City Council. It looks like they are failing to do their job properly.

These gates should be removed, as the cycle path should be available 24 hours a day. This is not the first time this has happened.


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Irwell River Path Map 2

A second map has appeared showing the Irwell River Path as a cycle route. The map is called Getting to Salford Quays and MediaCityUK and shows tram, bus train,cycling and car options.

Like the Heritage Cycle Trail map, it does not mention the locked gates on the Salford section, and it also shows a very strange route along the Trafford section, probably reflecting the route as it would have been about a year ago.



The on-line version

Locked Gates Again - Irwell River Path

The gates on the Irwell River Path were locked all day today.

This time it was just the set under the Trafford Road bridge, but inconvenient and anoying all the same.



Around a quarter to nine this morning...




and quarter past six this evening.

I have been informed that Quaywatch manage the gated access along the Ordsall stretch on behalf of Salford City Council.

Irwell River Park: Part 2 - River Park Central

I am becoming very fond of this path, despite its locked gates.



It does not have a single access barrier, there is lots of bird life (at least three herons), the rowers are often out in the morning and the path users often share a friendly greeting.

Strangely, whilst cycling on this path is being actively encouraged, it does not appear on any of the local authority cycling maps.

It starts in a rather unpromising car park by Trafford road bridge, close to the missing Clippers Quays Bridge.



Once under the double bridge the path turns gently left,



goes under the tram line,



and after a couple of blind corners and some interesting ironwork



becomes pleasantly tree-lined.



There's been work going on to make improvements recently. This is the recently refurbished Ordsall Anglers' fishing platform.



Meanwhile the nearby "community artwork" artwork changes on a daily basis.





Then the path narrows a bit more and gets a bit bumpy, with stone sets and a couple of small arches, but despite it causing me to buy a sprung saddle, it should still be fine for a trike or a bike trailer.



Under the Woden Street Footbridge.



Then the one vulnerable moment, with no guardrails and an uneven surface under the Regent Road Bridge



and the one major obstacle, the arch over the entrance to the Wilburn Street Basin.



The view of the basin from the top of the arch.



And finally under Trinity Way, then fork left to cross the river over Prince's Bridge.



If you use this route and have any comments about it then email tim.hewitt[at]salford.gov.uk and let him know. Tim is a Development Manager at Salford City Council and is working on the development of path. He is very keen to see more people use the river path.


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Locked Gates on the Irwell at 0845am

The gates on the Irwell near Trafford Road Bridge were still locked at 0845 this morning causing those of us using the path to double back and find our way round the obstructions. They are supposed to be unlocked at 8am, which is still too late for many commuters.







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Fallowfield Loop Barriers 2

Had I tried a little harder to research Saturday's route I might have been better prepared. Adding the word "barrier" to Fallowfield Loop on Google would have given me a much better idea of the route.

2people1bike demonstrates the problem nicely with this photo showing how to get a tandem past the barriers.



Cycle A 2 B has a couple of posts with clear photographs of the barriers, Fallowfield Loop 2 and Fallowfield Loop Barrier.

And, if you can cope with wobbly video from a head-mounted camera, there is also a video, though not of the section I cycled.



Here by comparison is Rowland Dye's rather better made timelapse video of the Bristol to Bath Railway Path - notice the lack of barriers along the path.



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If you are yet to be convinced as to why all cycle routes like this should be open to non-standard pedal cycles then watch this programme - jump 17 minutes in to see just how important cycling is for people with a disability.

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Interestingly CycleA2B contains this note

"As is this page where I found out there is actually a tunnel underneath Sainsbury's on Wilmslow Road, the design was a cock-up though so it's not in use."

Now, whilst the page linked to is no longer available, it links to this web site... http://www.steveessex.com/jobs/, a name which also turns up in this document about access barriers.

And this document contains a photo of the Fallowfield Loop which explains the horse shit on the path and, quite coincidentally, a photo of my Brox.

Barriers to Cycling on the Fallowfield Loop

On Saturday, I took the Brox Compact on the ride from Oxford Road to Chorlton's Big Green Festival to provide a bit of entertainment. As the route included the Fallowfield Loop railway path I had checked the website of the Friends of the Fallowfield Loop and the online map for information about the use of barriers on the route and couldn't find any information whatsoever. I also checked the Manchester cycling map, but again nothing.

Now I would expect a Sustrans Railway Path to have barriers at the exits and entrances to make it difficult to get motor vehicles onto the route, but the rest of the route should be clear. Sustrans got rid of the in-route barriers on the Bristol to Bath path around 20 years ago.

I had no real difficulty getting onto and off of the path, the machine is narrow enough to get through a normal house door, about the same width as a large wheel chair. However, along the short piece of route between Wilmslow Road and Sandy Lane we encountered four three major barriers, and in three two cases I was very grateful for the other riders who helped lift the Brox over the gates.



This was the first one



This bit of bank on one of the barriers was just wide enough.



and the last one, again the Brox had to be lifted.

Quite how the City Council thinks it can get away with barriers which prevent access for anyone with a disability who has to ride a tricycle or other specially adapted machine. It must also be a real pain for large cycle trailers and tandems. I am sure that the DDA would stop this kind of thing being installed now, and may even make them illegal.

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I've tried to find the barriers on Google maps, to plot them, and in the process found this image with two motor vehicles on the path...


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Irwell River Park: Part 2 - River Park Central

Well that put paid to that route at 3pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon in March!


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