It's better than nothing, but nothing like Amsterdam!
Notice the lack of junction treatment, no protection from vehicles turning left across the cycle route. In Amsterdam cycles get a separate phase at traffic lights.
Meantime the bus stops are over complicated, with pointless solar powered led lights, rumble strips and give way signs that were added later. Money spent on blaming people cycling whilst ignoring the real dangers at the junctions.
But the real problems on this route are the drivers using the cycle route as a parking place, normally it's private hire cars, but this time it was rather different...
Oxford Road going south
Oxford Road going north
When they put in half decent cycle routes in Manchester it's not long before they are closed by building works...
This morning was the first time in 14 months I have seen work being carried out on the path.
Rubble was being lifted into the area of the collapsed path and raked into position.
On returning this evening it was clear that this was not a long term repair of the towpath but a short term cludge.
Bags of rocks have been placed in the river to provide an outer edge and rubble has been put in between the bags and the remaining path to build the area up towards path level.
The fact that this is a short term measure begs the question as to why it has take over 14 months to get this far?
This morning clearly illustrated that if you don't maintain a cycle route you are creating danger.
The Bridgewater Way coming out of Castlefield was covered in sheet ice. Anyone hitting this ice on a bicycle could easilly have ended up in the canal, in water that was freezing over, a lethal combination.
Let's just hope that TfGM take this seriously and sort this out. The are promoting cycling in winter but their routes are clearly not fit for purpose. I won't be using this route until temperatures rise above freezing.
