Princes Bridge & the Ordsall Chord

Princes Bridge, the traffic free route which links Salford and Manchester, is soon to become the site of a massive building project.The new rail line to link Manchester Picadilly with Salford Central and Manchester Victoria stations, called the "Ordsal Chord" will involve building a new railway viaduct which will pass close to or right through Princes Bridge.




Plans are at an early stage, and it is not clear yet whether the existing bridge will remain or be demolished and replaced by a new cycle/pedestrian bridge, and where that new route will go, but the latest maps show the viaduct cutting straight through Princes Bridge.



Also what is quite certain is that this massive building project will have a severe impact on the people who cycle and walk across the bridge. It is possibly the busiest bridge in Manchester for cycle traffic. Construction traffic is planned to run along Regent Road and onto the inner ring road, bringing increased lorry traffic into the junction with the cycle route.



The main construction base is probably going to be on this car park, to the north of the bridge.

 

Surveying work is already taking place, and I saw a cycle count being carried out on the 9th October, but as far as I know they only sampled the bike traffic on that one day.




Network Rail will be undertaking a programme of public consultation to provide residents and interested stakeholders with an opportunity to view the plans and submit feedback.

Visit one of the exhibitions at the following times and venues:

Tuesday 20 November, 4pm – 8pm, Museum of Science & Industry
Wednesday 21 November,12pm-8pm, Museum of Science & Industry
Friday 23 November, 12pm – 8pm, Creative Media Centre, Salford
Saturday 24 November, 1pm – 5pm, Museum of Science & Industry
Monday 26 November, 4pm – 8pm, Salford Central Station
Tuesday 27 November, 10am – 5pm, Manchester Town Hall
Wednesday 28 November, 4pm – 8pm, Manchester Piccadilly Station


For more information or to register your views, e-mail ordsallchord@networkrail.co.uk.

This is important as we don't want a replacement bridge as bad as these examples further along NCN6!


         

 

And, there is also the prospect of construction traffic and changes affecting routes in this area with the proposed Middlewood Locks development, just to the west.

The River Medlock - Lower Medlock Branch

This route is shown on the Medlock Valley Leaflet as alternative to the NCN 86 along the Ashton Canal. It is shown going from the inner ring road by PC World all the way to Sport City



It is also shown following the same route on the latest TfGM Manchester cycling map.



However, when I rode this route back in August I found the route came up somewhat short of it's claimed destination.

The route begins at the southern end, where the inner ring road crosses the River Medlock.



It is a rough start on cobbles alongside the river.



After the cobbles run out the path forks left along the river,



and gains a tarmac surface as it starts to slope upwards.



It then turns right and climbs more steeply between railings to run alongside Aden Close,



before turning left and descending to rejoin the river.



The path then crosses Palmerston Street. Thankfully the kissing gates have been removed all along this route, so access is not a problem.



After crossing Palmerston Street the path turns sharp right and goes into woodland,



before emerging at Gurney Street. Here the route turns left along the road crossing the river on the road bridge



and then turns right into woods again.



A few yards further along the route forks left up a steep path, the only signage being the NCN sticker on the railing.



The path then turns left again



and emerges onto Merrill Street/Ashton New Road at the Mitchell Arms.



Here, despite the sign pointing onwards the route just vanishes.



The rest of the route onward to Sportcity has been closed for the construction of the tram line. There were no closure notices, nothing.



I could find nothing on the City Council's web site about the closure or anywhere else for that matter.

The maps given out to people interested in cycling contain quite a few errors and omissions. I don't trust these maps as they do not give accurate information about the conditions on the ground.

This is not a route I would recommend for cycling. There is too much stopping and starting and a lot of broken glass along the route. The Ashton Canal is a far better route.



View Lower Medlock Branch - NCN86 in a larger map

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.

Salford: "Cycle of investment to boost jobs"

A Press Release from Salford Council promises a significant impact with only twice the amount of money that has created 200 parking spaces in Manchester City Centre.

Press Release

01 November 2012

For Immediate Release

Cycle of investment to boost jobs

Over £1m is to be invested in creating safer cycle routes in Salford to help local residents get on their bikes to work.

Salford City Council is planning to invest around £1.2m over the next three years in creating cycle routes on and alongside roads and improving safety at crossing points. Funding will come from the government’s local sustainable transport fund.

The aim is to improve routes within easy cycling distance of Salford Quays and MediaCityUK to help local people access jobs. Over 13,000 jobs have already been created in the area and more investment is in the pipeline.

One route alone, along the River Irwell, could take up to 1000 car journeys a day off congested roads by linking major regeneration projects at Salford Central and Greengates with Salford University and the Quays.

“Areas such as Pendlebury, Kersal and Broughton are within five kilometres and easy reach of the Quays but have limited or no direct bus services and low car ownership,” said Councillor Derek Antrobus, assistant mayor for strategic planning.

“Providing good quality, safe cycle routes to the Quays makes it easier for local people to reach jobs in this area and for visitors to reach leisure and shopping facilities such as Ordsall Hall, the BBC, the Imperial War Museum and Manchester United FC.

“Linking Irwell River Park to the University of Salford and down to Salford Quays with an eight kilometre cycle route will also provide easy access to and from major development sites, including Greengate, Salford Central, Middlewood Locks and Pomona, as well as the Quays themselves.”

The work will include: A 1.8km two way, off road cycle route along the A5063 Broadway, the main traffic route to the Quays, and improvements to its junction with South Langworthy Road.

A cycle route from the University of Salford to Salford Quays, which links in with £10m worth of traffic calming schemes on the A6, and runs along Trafford Road to link up with Broadway.

A shared pedestrian/cycle path along Regent Road, which is currently unpopular with cyclists due to heavy traffic, and improved cycle routes along Langworthy Road and Weaste Lane which will also link with Broadway.

Alongside this the Council aims to improve cycling along the River Irwell to the north of the University of Salford in a bid to take up to 1000 car journeys a day off the roads.

Improvements will be carried out to bridges, junctions, signs and crossings along the route as well as creating a path to be shared by cyclists and pedestrians between Woden Street and Fairbrother St, Ordsall. Irwell River Park will also become part of the National Cycle Network as route NCN 556 and will link Salford Quays to Salford Central Station, Salford University, the A6 Chapel St and new developments at Salford Central and Greengate.

Salford City Council Public Relations
Tel: 0161 793 3410
Email: public.relations@salford.gov.uk

Visit us at http://www.salford.gov.uk/council/pressreleases.htm

Let's hope there aren't more of these.

£2,500 for one cycle parking space

This Saturday's MEN carried a story that underlines just how far off the plot Manchester is when it comes to cycling. The item, titled "Underground bike park to open as part of bid to make Manchester the ‘commuter cycling capital of Britain’" gives details of a new £500,000 cycle hub in the centre of Manchester. Now, half a million pounds being spent on cycling in the city centre sounds like good news. Money like that could make a big difference....



However, this £500,000 has been spent on providing cycle parking for only 200 bikes. That's an eye watering £2,500 per cycle parking space. People using this high-quality facility will have to pay £100 or £200 a year to use it. So this is an expensive, executive cycle parking facility that will benefit a few well paid cyclists, like the city council leader, but make very little difference to the number of people cycling in Manchester.

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

Update:

A source tells me that by mid December this very expensive facility (which has been extensively marketed) had only attracted 36 members. That would work out at over £10,000 per cycle parking space!

Irwell River Park: Part 4 - River Park Meadows

Part 3 of the Irwell River Park is still mostly a no-go area for pedal cycles, but part four is somewhat better...




Starting at New Bridge Street, the route is marked by red loops over the path.



The path slopes down onto a boardwalk, turns a tight left and right under Trinity Way,



emerging onto a tarmac path along the south side of the river.



After a while the path kinks left



and then turn right through the gates



and the path turns to a sand surface alongside the river.



This is by far the best path of this route, with wide views an a feeling of freedom from the urban landscape. Here the canalised Irwell of the docks and city center is replaced by a free-flowing river between substantial flood barriers.



Soon however, the path presents bike riders with a problem. At Broughton Bridge, the path runs into steps, so you have to turn left out onto St Simon Street and then right along Blackfriars Road to avoid lifting your pedal cycle.



The route crosses Blackfriars Road on the level with no assistance apart from a traffic island.



Soon after the route opens out into this strange wide path that looks like a rear access road. It is also hemmed in by a brick wall on the left and railings on the right. Despite being traffic free it feels oddly unsafe as if a delivery van is about to come flying round the corner.



At the end of this section there is a traffic-free junction where the Irwell River Path joins the route of NCN route 6.






At this point the path turns right onto Adelphi Footbridge and into a dreadful set of barriers.




If you can get your pedal cycle through this obstruction you drop down onto Riverside,



and then turn right onto Meadow Road.



The road is soon blocked by another weird set of barriers'



and the route turns from a wide road into a flagstone shared footpath.



The path soon becomes hemmed in between the river and back gardens.



The path then crosses Frederick Road - again with no assistance other than a traffic island.




The other side of the road the path is obstructed by another set of barriers.



A short way further on the route reaches St Boniface Road where it turns left over the bridge



and hits yet another set of barriers.



If you can get this far the Irwell River Park ends at Gerald Road, though NCN Route 6 continues.




View Irwell River Park: Part 4 in a larger map