In The Skinny NW

This week Mad Cycle Lanes of Manchester made page 26 of The Skinny NW in the first paragraph of an item on cycling.



Also mentioned were Popup Bikes and Team Glow, but it is a shame they chose a women's sports group rather than the more inclusive Spokes.

Manchester Day Parade

Manchester Day Parade is quite an experience when you are taking part. The only down-side is that you don't get to see what the other floats look like.

I have to say at the start of the day my thoughts were "never again" with all the hard work and long hours that went into this. I spent many hours trying to help our artist, maker and blacksmith Julian Taylor in his efforts to build our big bike and puppet rider.

However, as soon as we turned the corner into Deansgate I changed my mind. Our group of 30 people on bikes, trikes and a quad with two linked sound systems and Julian's wonderful giant bike just seemed to take over the space.

The other problem is that when you are taking part it is very hard to take many decent photographs. So this post is what I have taken - I will post more when Jasmine and Julian's photos are available...

The chaos before the start - Anna and friends didn't join until we had moved off.



After the main part, a pause whilst we waited for the parade to clear Deansgate - a military band were refusing to follow directions from Walk The Plank and spoilt the parade for the people at the back.



Finally we returned to Deansgate and let (what's left of our) hair down...

Pete Abel had contributed a lot of effort despite also sorting out a lot of the Bike Month Manchester stuff.



Julian Taylor our artist looking very pleased with the result.



And Peta, who also helped with the building of the puppet, soaking up the atmosphere.



We are already thinking about next year. It doesn't have to be under the GMCC banner net time, we could call it Manchester Critical Mass or Mad Cycle Lanes of Manchester. We will have to see what next year's theme is...

Update:

You can see all of  Julian's photographs here.

May Critical Mass

May's Critical Mass celebrated the warm weather with a good turnout.

It's the first time I've see a two wheeled recumbent on CM in Manchester.



The good weather also brought out lots of bright coloured clothes.



The ride took some new routes today, this was round the back of the university.



The atmosphere was generally very good.



I left as the ride turned south towards Platts Field Park.





A good evening seemed to be had by all, and it was a fitting prelude to Bike Month Manchester.

Music at the front was Nightmares On Wax, Smoker's Delight and Easy Star All-Stars, Dubber Side of the Moon.

Cycle City Ambition Grant for Manchester?

An unconfirmed report on Place North West says that

"Transport for Greater Manchester is understood to have secured £15m from the Government's Cycle City Ambition Grant programme to encourage more people to get on their bikes."

No idea if it is true or not, we will probably have to wait for an official announcement.

The source of the story seems to be a press release on 24th May from Lib Dem MP Andrew Stunell.

Update: the page has now been deleted, but you can still read the press release here.

It is likely that the announcement of the grant will be made sometime around Bike Week.

GMCC News - Summer 2013

Another GMCC Newsletter hits Manchester, this version had to be expanded to 12 pages to cope with all the news of Oxford Road, Velocity 2025, and Bike Month Manchester.



I've put it on Scribid again because the last one still hasn't been posted to the GMCC web site, so I'm not waiting for that to happen when there is so much news to get out there.

One correction to make, the photo at the top of page two is by Agnieszka Jaroszewicz, sorry it all got put together in a bit of a rush.

GMCC News Summer 2013 by Mike Armstrong

The formatting is a bit messed up and the quality isn't brilliant on Scribid, so to make sure you get your own printed copy of the GMCC Newsletter then join us now...

Take part in the Manchester Day Parade

The entry for the MCR Day Parade is coming together.

The giant bike has now arrived, and we need help finishing off the bike and puppet during the week.



Also there are still a few places for people to take part in the parade, both with bikes and people to help guide the giant bike.

Email mdp@gmx.co.uk to take part.

Princes Bridge - "it has not been possible to provide a direct route"

Back in March...

Following on from last year's consultation, Network rail say that the future of Princes Bridge was a key issue for many people. They say they are "committed to providing a replacement crossing which maintains connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists (both short and long term)."

"Talks are ongoing with both Manchester City Council and Salford City Council as to what the bridge might look like, and where an appropriate location might be."

Now, only 2 months later we get this...

The construction of Ordsall Chord will take 2 years, with a planned start date of Winter 2014 and a completion date of Winter 2016. In order to build the Ordsall Chord structures the existing Prince’s Bridge crossing will need to be removed. Once construction is complete, a permanent replacement crossing will be provided. During construction a temporary route is required for pedestrians and cyclists. Prince’s Bridge carries a number of utilities which also need to be diverted permanently. The current plan for this is to build a dedicated utilities bridge adjacent to Castlefield Bridge.

We have considered a number of options for diversion routes, including providing a temporary dedicated crossing facility and diverting pedestrians and cyclists eastbound along Trinity Way towards Quay Street. Both of these options have had to be dismissed. Due to the location of compound sites, on either side of the River Irwell, it has not been possible to provide a direct route, that is safe and that does not conflict with construction traffic. The need to provide ramps to access and egress a temporary bridge means that any journey time savings would be minimal. The routes around the compound sites were indirect and isolated so the safety of both cyclists and pedestrians was also a concern. The eastbound diversion along Trinity Way towards Quay Street has been dismissed as during construction traffic management measures will be in place during certain periods, which may impact upon the cycle lanes and footways along the stretch of Trinity Way between Hampson Street and Irwell Street.

The only other viable diversion route is to divert cyclists along Castlefield Bridge (between Hampson St and Water St). Castlefield Bridge has good existing cycle and pedestrian infrastructure provision with footways and cycle lanes on either side of the carriageway. The key conflict points are at the Water Street / Trinity Way junction and the Hamspon Street / Trinity Way junctions. There is an area underneath the rail bridge on Trinity Way (south west of Hampson St) where space is tight. We have identified a number of options to improve safety for diverted pedestrians and cyclists. We are also looking at the option of making use of the planned new utility crossing, by provided an unsegregated shared pedestrian / cycle route on top of the crossing.

The diversion plans provide different options for how the diversion route could work with the aim of providing a safe route for both pedestrians and cyclists. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

If you wish to make any comments on the proposals for the *cycle route diversions* please send them to James Shanks at Parsons Brinckerhoff shanksja@pbworld.com before Saturday 25th May.

For anyone going down the Irwell path it will be easier and quicker to cross the river on the A57 Regent Road and go down the steps.


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