Outwood Trail Closure

The Outwood Trail is closed between Ringley Road West, Outwood and the M60 bridge is closed from the 18th March to 24th May 2013 for resurfacing works.



This is where the path is blocked from the north. This is the site of Ringley Road Station, there is a steep path up to the road on the right.



From the south you are faced with this.



Will post the best alternative route soon - it is part on road.

Unhelpfully, there was no alternative route posted at the route closures.

This is a map of the closure.


View Outwood Trail Closure in a larger map

And here is my suggested alternative route, avoiding most of the muddy bits I found over the weekend.


View Outwood Trail Alternative Route in a larger map

..most of the muddy bits.

Manchester March Critical Mass

Bank Holiday Critical Masses are always smaller than usual, people are away on holliday, and the students are away.

However this one was pretty good. Lots of new faces and shiny new bikes joined the ride.



Whilst BST isn't quite here yet, there was still some light in the sky as we set off.



It was a fast paced ride with good fluffy vibe.



I left early, as the ride reached the southern end of Deansgate.



Next month it will be warm and light :)

When Cycle Tracks End...

The A56 Chester Road/Bridgewater Viaduct heading north east towards Deansgate has a two way cycle track on the right hand side. for people cycling south east it is ok, just so long as you watch out for traffic at the junctions.

However, if you are using it to cycle north west you are in for a nasty shock...

It is tricky to cross junctions on the wrong side of the road, and here at the junction with Great Jackson Street the road eats into your space making curved give way lines.



Carrying on it doesn't seem too bad,



but if you are aiming to go north up towards Deansgate then the most obvious thing to do is take this left turn.



However, as these two lads find, you are simply dumped into the path of oncoming traffic.



The large raised traffic island then gets in your way, making things even more dangerous.



From here on it is anyone's guess, one of them goes straight on to the pavement whilst the other dives left across the road.



He did make it across safely, leaving his mate going up the pavement on the other side of the road.



This is one of the worst examples of dangerous cycling half-measures in Manchester, that I have found. I know of one person who was hit by a car here 10 years ago, and I am sure there have been more. I think this was a facility that was unfinished, rather than designed to be this dangerous, but either way round it should never have been left like this.

I find it far safer to stick to the road going north east on Chester Road, and avoid this track altogether.


View Larger Map

Life Cycle by George Wyllie

At the southern end of Deansgate sits the sculpture "Life Cycle" by scottish artist George Wyllie who died last year aged 90.



It was comissioned by Manchester City Council for an international conference on the environment in 1995, and originally stood in Albert Square.


Photo from artist's web site

It was relocated to its current location the following year.

Princes Bridge "will be removed"

In their latest newsletter on the subject Network rail have confirmed that Princes Bridge will be removed as part of the building of the Ordsall Chord, the new rail line to link Manchester Picadilly with Salford Central and Manchester Victoria stations.



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."



Lets just hope we don't end up with the usual low grade rubbish there is elsewhere on NCN6. Both council's have a track record of installing expensive anti-cycling barriers on bridges that exclude many people.

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.

GMCC News - Spring 2013

Hopefully this newsletter will be the first of many, despite efforts by one GMCC member to take over at the last minute and make a dog's breakfast of it all. This individual was so determined to take control that he bombarded me with emails, phone calls and even rang up the printers to try and get it changed. I was so stressed out by it all that I ended up in A&E a few days later.

However, it seems to have been worth the effort and the newsletter gone down well with readers. A big thank you to all the contributors for their writing, photos and advice. When I took a few round local bike shops the staff immediately opened it and started reading. Photos from the second Coffee Cranks Film Night show several people reading it.



In fact the newsletter has been so successful that it has already gone to a second print run to provide more copies to be distributed to bike shops and Cllr Kate Chappell, chair of the Manchester Cycle Forum was so pleased with it she has been handing out copies herself, even giving one to the transport minister....

Btw @madcyclelanemcr I gave Norman Baker a copy of #gmcc newsletter this morning. Can I have some more?!
— kate chappell (@ChappellKate) March 13, 2013

So here it is, the first of a new era for the GMCC Newsletter, I hope you enjoy it. It has not been uploaded to the GMCC web site, so I have uploaded it to Scribd instead. Unfortunately Scribd cannot handle Courier New font correctly, so page 2 is a bit of a mess, but I hope you get the idea.

GMCC News Spring 2013

We'll be aiming to get the next newsletter out before the end of May, in time for June's events. Please send your contributions to nl(at)gmcc.org.uk. Please try and keep them to half a page of text, or less, and include your photos or artwork and your full name and a line to introduce yourself to the readers.