Corporation Street CYCLISTS DISMOUNT

It just gets worse in Corporation Street.



Two DISMOUNT signs have turned up in Corporation Street on both sides of the road outside W.H. Smiths.



On both sides pathetic little tarmac ramps have been added, presumably this is to help you push your bike onto the pavement.



On the southbound side the ramp is quite dangerous as it forces anyone who continues cycling alongside the pavement into the tram tracks.






This chap clearly had other ideas about how to proceed...



There are other new signs in the area. To the north of Exchange Square station signs have appeared clearly indicating that cycling is allowed along here.



This probably explains the panic measures on the south side of the station.



The planning of the Second City Crossing has been an absolute disaster for cycling. Metrolink claim they consulted cycling organisations, but there is no sign at all that they have listened.

For more information...

Corporation St, Part 1 - heading north...

Corporation Street Part 2 - heading south...

Corporation Street Part 2 - heading south...

Part 1 Northbound

Heading south there is a lonely ASL at the junction with Hanover Street. No sign of a feeder cycle lane here.



Next you cross the tram tracks, not too much of a problem here as the crossing is more or less at right angles.



Then a cycle lane appears by the Coop Bank. The lane markings are ambivalent, so not sure if it is supposed to be mandatory or not. It then gets somewhat stranger,



rising to pavement level, presumably to avoid the cost of re-positioning these access covers



returning to road level as the buses swing in from Port Street. From here the cycle lane is definitely advisory, so will be blocked by taxis much of the time.



Again we get these pointless green squares



and an ASL crossing the tram tracks.



As the buses swing left there is this floating cycle lane going straight on



and onto a paved section



which terminates in this idiotic manner.



This last piece of crap design has already been posted several times on Twitter by people angry at this design. It deserves to be posted many more times.

Corporation St, Part 1 - heading north...

With the Exchange Square tram stop opening it's time to review the cycle provision along Corporation street to see if they made any improvements after a meeting held this time last year when we told Metrolink and several local councillors what we thought of their (anti-)cycling plans.

This is the view from Market Street - note the "Tram Only" and no entry signs...



This nasty kink in the kerb looks like the end of the cycle lane that was shown on the original plans.



From here you will be expected to cycle in the 1 metre gap between the kerb and rails,



and wait behind trams at the stop.



As you reach the junction there is this dreadful ASL, which is in any case not technically legal...



As you get alongside the Football Museum there is this advisory cycle lane with crap green squares and an ambulance standing by to deal with the consequences of the next section.



At the junction with Todd Street the cycle lane vanishes, but watch out for the buses that swing left into Todd Street,



and then we reach the most dangerous section. Here you are expected to cross tram lines at a very shallow angle with traffic coming up behind you.



The angle is bad on both tracks, so if the first set doesn't get you, the second one will.



Clearly TfGM/Metrolink couldn't care less...

Part 2 Southbound

New Victoria Station Tram Crossing - Todd Street to Corporation Street

Now this is just a short cycle cut-through outside Victoria Station where there are now four sets of tracks entering the station. The old cut-through wasn't up to much, but the new one seems to have got lost somewhere along the way...



Approaching from the Corporation Street direction it didn't look to bad at first.



The bollards are presumably there to stop motor vehicles getting through, but may cause problems for cargo-trikes and quads. However, I'm not so sure as to why the green surface has been laid across the tram tracks.



Major problems come to light in the island between the two pairs of tracks.



This island is too narrow to take a normal bicycle, you would need to turn it sideways if there were trams on both sides and if you were caught at this point with a bike and trailer, the contents of the trailer would end up underneath the oncoming tram!



Across the tracks heading for Todd Street it doesn't look too bad, apart from the large numbers of people crossing.



However, you arrive at Todd Street to find no reasonable and legal route in any direction, but at the moment you are probably best off going straight on down the side of Cathedral Gardens.



However, it's only when you turn around and look at the route towards Corporation Street that you see the true lunacy of this crossing, this exit into Long Millgate is a dead end for motor vehicles and double yellow lines, yet there is this stupid little lane directing you through two right-angled turns to make space for cars. It is totally impractical and idiotic, which begs the question as to who was responsible for this design, Manchester City Council or TfGM?



We know there will be more rubbish to come. TfGM briefly showed us the maps and the response was universal condemnation.

If TfGM/City Council make a mess of a simple cycle facility like this, the rest is going to be even worse than we feared.

Concerns with Metrolink tram routes: Statement to Manchester Cycle Forum

The problems with the lack of consultation with the public on the design of the new Metrolink lines has reached a crisis with the very poor quality designs that are potentially very dangerous for anyone on a bicycle.

Love Your Bike helped co-ordinate a response from a range of Greater Manchester cycling organisations which was presented to the Manchester Cycle Forum on 9th December and to Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Metrolink.

Read the full analysis of the problems with the ‘cycling provision’ at the Southmoor Road / Altrincham Road junction in Wythenshawe on the Love Your Bike web site.


Image from LyB web site.

I support this statement, though I wish to see involvement going beyond just cycling organisations and include open involvement for members of the public in the same way as the cycle forum.

Statement text: The Manchester Cycle Forum meeting of 9th December 2014:

1) Notes the serious concerns raised by British Cycling in November 2012 on the new tram lines around the Manchester Velodrome [1] and previous concerns raised by a Manchester Wheelers member in 2010 regarding the Eccles New Road route. [2]

2) Also notes that many Manchester residents already use cycle routes through Trafford Park and to Media City and that funding has been secured to build the Trafford Park Metrolink line.

3) Is dismayed that despite raising concerns over the design and provision of cycling provision alongside Metrolink routes that yet again inconvenient and, in some cases, unsafe cycling provision has again been installed on the Metrolink extension routes. Notably, the Altrincham Road / Southmoor Road junction on the Metrolink Airport route

4) Calls on Transport for Greater Manchester, Metrolink and its project contractors to ensure that:

a) remedial measures are taken to improve the cycling infrastructure provision along existing Metrolink routes;

b) future Metrolink routes, such as Trafford Park, must be designed to meet the TfGM Cycle Design guidance which outlines the 5 key criteria “for successful and effective cycling infrastructure”, namely: safety, coherence, directness, attractiveness and comfort.

c) the cycling organisations in Greater Manchester are involved from the beginning of the design process.



This statement is supported by the organisations listed below:

British Cycling, Martin Key

CTC Right to Ride, Dave Butler

GM Cycling Campaign, Jonathan Fingland

Love Your Bike, Dr Graeme Sherriff

Manchester Cycling Lab / The University of Manchester, Gabriele Schliwa

Sustrans, Rosslyn Coldersley, Regional Director

UMBUG, Kathy England
Notes

[1] Olympic coach Shane Sutton, badly hurt in bike crash, says tram lines around Manchester Velodrome are ‘death trap’ for cyclists. Manchester Evening News.

[2] Is this Dangerous? (Eccles New Rd in Salford) Manchester Wheelers.

Trafford Park Tram Plans - cycle routes will be closed for months

After some fuss trying to get the plans for the Trafford Park Metrolink out of TfGM I was sent an email containing a link to a complete set of plans online.

Why on earth TfGM didn't put a link on the notices I don't know, but there has been no publicity about these plans that I have seen beyond the paper notices.

There is good news and dreadful news on these plans.

The good news is the track alignment may have improved for cycling as most routes look like they will cross the track at right angles in more places.

The dreadful news is that most of the cycle routes will be closed for many months during construction work. For example, not only are the access paths being closed, this whole section of the towpath will be shut for the construction work.

The tram lines will smash their way through Sam Platts pub, and demolish the Wharfside Business Centre and the factory adjacent to Quay West. This is different from the original alignment in the consultation which would have run along the road.



Will update as I work my way through the details...

Tram routes & cycling meeting

A meeting has been called by the Manchester Cycle Forum to discuss the cycling routes around the tram routes for the Second City Crossing and Altrincham Road.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, 4th December at 5pm in Committee Room 4 of Manchester Town Hall.

Email cycle.forum@manchester.gov.uk to confirm your attendance.



Unfortunately the tram lines are already going in so the scope for changes will be limited.

Corporation Street Route is getting worse...

The cycle route down Corporation Street is getting worse and worse as Metrolink's contractors keep digging.



The whole road is getting blocked off in places.

Heading south you get funneled in to this very narrow gap.



But then things go badly wrong. You are probably supposed to use the pavement at this point, but there are no signs.



The next bit still has signs, and it's up onto the pavement again.



The Market Street end isn't too bad, but generally it looks like the contractors have lost interest in keeping the cycle route open.

Corporation Street - still open for cycles ---- (but only just...)

Update 25/1/14 - Seems to be getting worse...

This morning I cycled along the route and found that the contractors are now digging up the cycle track by Victoria Station.



The result is you are now forced onto the pavement.



Let's hope Operation Grimwald don't decide to stage a sting operation here...


--------------------------

Corporation Street is closed to motor vehicles between Hanover Street and St Mary's Gate/Market Street for the new tram works.

However, it is still open for cycling!



Cycles travelling south are sent right down into the car park, then left towards the tram tracks.



This contractor's van was blocking the way...



Then left again onto Todd Street where you rejoin the traffic and there is a set of traffic lights.



Through the lights you are back onto Corporation Street,



and past the traffic lights you can still get along Corporation Street



the route is well signed



and takes you all the way to the junction with Market street.



Despite all the signage some car drivers clearly can't see where they are going. This pair wend the wrong way down St Mary's Gate...



Bloody drivers!!


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