A message from Tameside Council to the cycling community...

See below for the text of an email recently sent by Tameside Council's Sustainable Travel Officer to members of Tameside Cycle Forum.

Dear Cyclist,

As you are aware the Tameside Cycle Forum has not met for a number of months.  The reasons for this are numerous and includes over a 1,000 staff leaving the authority in recent months, severe and ongoing budget reductions and additional work being taken on by remaining staff.

Part of the budget reductions is a year on year decrease by the Department for Transport funding for structural maintenance money which generally addresses resurfacing and bridge maintenance. Other minor maintenance work funding for elements such as footways repairs and potholes have also been cut. Apart from a small sum of council funded capital works there are no other capital monies available to improve the overall highway infrastructure.

Clearly the Greater Manchester Transport Fund is rolling out Metrolink, and other schemes within the GM area and a comprehensive Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LTSF) bid is being put together led by Transport for Greater Manchester on behalf of all GM districts. A LTSF report is being considered by TfGMC on 11 November 2011.

Please don’t forget if you have any maintenance issues which need to be looked at these can be reported this via the Tameside website at: http://public.tameside.gov.uk/symology/cs_index.asp

However, in respect of the cycle forum, Tameside is to seek views of the other Greater Manchester Districts as to whether they hold such meetings and if so how often and their Terms of Reference. Once this information has been collected, then a decision will be made as to how cycle issues in Tameside should be taken forward.

Michael Hughes, Sustainable Travel Officer 

E-mail:  michael.hughes@tameside.gov.uk



The policy decision to establish Cycle Forums in all of the 10 Greater Manchester local authority areas was adopted in the "The Greater Manchester Cycling Strategy" 2006 and also the Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan 2006/07-2010/11 which required local authorites:


"To strengthen partnerships with other public bodies, commercial organisations and voluntary bodies in order to promote and cater for cycling. 

3.8.1 Dialogue with local cyclists and other interested parties through Cycle Forums, which have been established in all councils, should be maintained and improved where necessary. Authorities should also work with local cycling groups, representatives from health authorities, schools, local businesses, the police and the passenger transport providers."  (Policy 8 Partnerships and consultation)

It seems a little strange that Tameside Council are proposing to "seek views of the other Greater Manchester Districts as to whether they hold such meetings and if so how often and their Terms of Reference. Once this information has been collected, then a decision will be made as to how cycle issues in Tameside should be taken forward".


How about asking the cycling (and non-cycling) communities in Tameside whether they would like to have a functioning cycle forum?  


So if you live, or work, in Tameside and have an interest in developing better cycling facilities - perhaps you would like to let the Sustainable Travel officer, or better still, your local councillor know your views on the matter..... just a thought!

Say goodbye to cycling down Cross St / Corporation Street ?

Metrolink – proposed Second City Crossing (2CC).

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has just launched a 12-week statutory consultation on proposals for a second Metrolink line across Manchester City Centre which will run between Deansgate (GMEX) and Victoria via Cross Street to help prevent City Centre bottlenecks on the tram network.

The proposed route runs along Lower Mosley Street, through St Peters Square and along Princess Street (by the Town Hall) before turning right into Cross Street. The artists impression (right) is from the Second City Crossing Route proposal (page 28) presented to the GM Integrated Transport Authority committee meeting on 18th March 2011.   It may only be an artist’s impression but shows no provision for cycle routes/paths and Manchester's cycle campaigns are concerned that the new Metrolink route result in the loss of Cross Street/Coronation Street as a well-used low-traffic,  two-way route for people cycling across the City Centre.

One of the pinch points will be the area between Marks & Spencers and the main Arndale building where the road is fairly narrow. It is rumoured that the "solution" in this area will be to create "shared use" pavements.  As one of the busiest shopping and (pedestrian) commuter streets in the City Centre it does not seem much of a solution to me - more a recipe for collisions with pedestrians (and yes, I know that people could get off and walk their bikes through that section but unfortunately many people don't/won't).  

Now it is likely that many people will simply cycle along the tram tracks but not a solution that is likely to appeal to people new to cycling or encourage people to try cycling for the first time.

The latest GM Local Transport Plan (LTP3) contains a number of Priority Commitments.  One of which boldly states that: “Our proposals set out ways to… remove barriers to cycling” (page 44). If Manchester wants to increase the number of people cycling then it is vital that there are safe and pleasant cycle routes across the City Centre.  In transport planning jargon we need to increase the ‘permeability’ of the city.  

I do not believe that the Metrolink consultation will see any major changes to the new tram route but we could use the consultation process to raise the need for better (and more pleasant) cross-city cycle routes and to lobby for Manchester City Council to include such designs and improvements in any negotiations with Metrolink - a similar process to the Section 106 funding often required for planning approval.  It only seems reasonable that if Metrolink remove access to a cross-city cycle route that they be required to fund suitable replacement routes (or am I being hopelessly naive and optimistic?).

If you would like to send TfGM your views on this issue then the deadline for consultation reponses is 9th September 2011.

TfGM say that they would like to hear the views of local residents, community organisations, businesses and anyone who visits the city centre for work or leisure.  There are 3 ways to send in your views....

• via the online consultation form.
• return the response form in the brochure available from Travelshops in Piccadilly Gardens and Shudehill Interchange or at one of our public exhibitions (see website for dates/locations).
• Email 2cc.metrolink@tfgm.com with your comments

Happy consulting !

PS the Metrolink 2nd City Crossing issue will be discussed at the Manchester Cycle Forum on Tuesday 14th June.  Venue: University Place (Oxford Road), Room 5.205.  Time: 5.15 - 6.30pm.

More details should be available on MCC Cycle Forum webpage.

This is not a cycle path..... but is it a long term plan?

Reading a recent blog post by David Hembrow 'This is not a Cycle Path' highlighted for me the need for Greater Manchester to get its act together on both the short term measures and longer term planning that will be needed to help encourage more people to choose walking and cycling for everyday journeys.    

A recent post on this blog (What would mass cycling in Greater Manchester look like?) looked at the low levels of people in Greater Manchester who reported that they travelled to work by bicycle (2001 census data) and highlighted a great video from the Netherlands that shows what can be achieved when planning to increase cycling levels is coherent and continuous over a long period.

David Hembrow writes about a 75km cycle trip he made where he lives in the Netherlands.  David describes how "most of the first half of the route between here and Hoogeveen is on roads, not cycle paths. However, these are not roads as you probably know them. Yes, in theory they are "shared" with cars, but in practice you only very rarely see a car using them. There is a parallel road with a higher speed limit which takes the through traffic, and the only cars which use the minor road are those which are accessing properties along it."

Proposals for cycling infrastructure often highlights the two polar opposite positions that can divide the cycling communities - from the "roads are the cycle network, all cycling infrastructure is unecessary" to the "people will not cycle until there is a totally segregated cycle network".  On top of this faultline is the shockingly poor quality of much of the cycling infrastructure that is installed on Greater Manchesters roads.  From my experience, the cycling communities in the UK often seem to spend more time arguing amongst themselves and campaigning against things, rather than working towards developing the (longer term) measures that are essential for normalising cycling.

David Hembrow argues that: "What cyclists need to fight for is better conditions for cycling, which result in more cycling. Spending time in defending a position of being allowed to use roads which the majority of the population find unpleasant may slow the decline of cycling, but it will never grow it. The best defence is a good offence. In the case of cycling, growth comes by fighting for cycling conditions with a level of subjective safety such that everyone will want to cycle, and direct routes which make cycling efficient. The Dutch have done this for a while now, with great success relative to other countries." This reflects a recent article on the I Bike London blog which considers what the cycling communities can learn from the gay rights movement as well as the debates surrounding the setting up of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain.

I don't agree totally with David Hembrow and think that we need to get much better at being able to focus on delivering short-term (here and now) measures as well as developing and implementing the longer-term (where do we want to get to) measures.  After all, the Dutch and Danes have been implementing their pro-cycling policies for over 60 years....

So... looking forward and recognising that a network of traffic-free cycle routes, or cycles routes on quiet roads is one of the most commonly stated factors that people (who do not currently cycle) highlight as a factor that could encourage them to start cycling.


One of the objectives in the draft Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan (LTP3) is to:  "further develop a ‘core cycle network’, that will be implemented locally, on which people will be able to cycle with ease, convenience and safety. This will involve not only the creation of cycle lanes, but improvements at large junctions, roundabouts or pinch points that create barriers for cyclists. We see the completion of a ‘core cycle network’, over the long term, as the key intervention needed in order to create a pro-cycling culture in Greater Manchester." (Section 4.4.2.1)


To achieve such a core cycle network - the soon-to-be formed Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and local councils will need to implement more "road space re-allocation" to help encourage active travel (walking and cycling) and other forms of sustainable transport.

The Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan (LTP2) included the following Short term Measure (2002 – 2005): "Road Space Reallocation to more sustainable modes and improved traffic management" as well as this Medium term measure (2006-2011) " Continued road space reallocation and further development of pedestrian and cycle initiatives."  We will need to continue lobbying to ensure that the new Local Transport Plan (LTP3) actually implements these measures.


To ensure that any core cycle network provides coherent, consistent and continuous routes will require long-term planning and constant oversight. The unfortunate siting of a major supermarket slap bang in the middle of the Fallowfield Loop highlights the need to ensure that any future plans for cycling infrastructure are embedded into the long-term planning frameworks across Greater Manchester.

 
One route to acheive this will be to lobby for core cycling infrastructure provision to be incorporated into the GM Spatial Framework  which should be open for consultation in June 2011. For all those that have not yet had the delights of encountering this concept the following description may help: "The GM Spatial Framework is not a fully comprehensive plan for Greater Manchester, but focuses on key agreed opportunities. The Framework will be a concise and selective guide to inform investment decisions by public and private sector partners, drawing from district core strategies and other local strategies and concentrating on issues and proposals which are important for the conurbation as a whole and may require a joint commitment, for example to secure necessary supporting infrastructure." (Page 2).

This might all sound very dull and not as much fun as cycling but if we want to develop levels of cycling similar to the Netherlands and Denmark we need to work together with a range of local government agencies, businesses and community groups to embed pro-cycling policies at all levels in Greater Manchester. Together we are stronger.....

Trafford finally get on board the bus lane ?

Well here we are in October 2010 and another consultation on a Local Transport Plan (LTP3) is upon us.  A key part of the two previous LTP strategy documents was a focus on work to create a network of quality bus corridors to provide priority routes for public transport bus services across Greater Manchester.

These Quality Bus Corridors (QBCs) are designed to help buses avoid traffic congestion bottlenecks and so help provide a more reliable bus service - they also double up as very wide cycle lanes. 

 

The two photographs are of a bus corridor on Upper Chorlton Road - the north bound carriageway of which falls within Trafford Borough Council's responsibility.  Despite the "bus lane" road markings and the blue sign that makes it very clear that the lane is only meant to be used by buses, cycles and taxis between the hours of 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm (Monday to Friday) - for the best part of the last three years this "bus lane" has functioned as a 24 hour car park facility.

The reasons for this stretch back to 20th September 2007 when Trafford Council sought authorisation for the Upper Chorlton Road, Old Trafford and Edge Lane, Stretford (Reserved Bus Lane) (Peak Hours) Order and announced that:

"NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Trafford Borough Council proposes to make an Order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit all vehicles other than buses, pedal cycles and taxis from entering, proceeding or waiting in the bus lanes during the stated days and hours:-

RESERVED BUS LANE - PEAK HOURS
Monday – Friday 0700 – 1000 and 1600 - 1900
Upper Chorlton Road, Old Trafford - north side.

This "Reserved Bus Lane Order on Upper Chorlton Road" became operative on 7^thApril 2008 but according to Trafford Council there were no enforceable waiting restrictions within the bus lane.

Unfortunately, Trafford Council never got round to applying for the powers to be able to enforce ‘moving traffic offences’ (ie travelling in a bus lane).  In August 2009, Trafford Council stated that the "Council may obtain powers to carry out this type of enforcement in the future, but the cost of doing so would probably not be justified, in view of the relatively short lengths of bus lanes that we currently have within Trafford."

It went on to add that "Enforcement of any parking that takes place within a bus lane, by a Civil Enforcement Officer, has proved difficult using the bus lane traffic regulation Order. The Council is therefore considering a proposal to introduce corresponding waiting restrictions, in addition to the bus lane, that could be enforced by its Civil Enforcement Officers, however, the time span for such a proposal is approximately 6-9 months."

Finally, in September 2010, a report has been sent to the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation which stated that Trafford Council wanted "To seek approval to introduce waiting restrictions along Upper Chorlton Road, Old Trafford."  We are seeking confirmation that this request was approved.

So over 3 years after the original Reserved Bus Lane (Peak Orders) Order was submitted, Trafford Council have finally got round to obtaining the necessary powers to stop this "bus lane" from being used as a car parking facility.  We can only hope that any necessary enforcement actions are implemented a little more speedily.... but then again if the rumours that Trafford Council are planning to reduce its Highways Department from the current workforce complement of 28 down to 12 staff are accurate - then the wait for any future bus corridor enforcement may have to wait for many more buses to come along... 

You have until the 24th December 2010 to submit your suggestions and comments on the Local Transport Plan (LTP3) consultation.  Perhaps you might like to comment on bus lanes and parking enforcement..... just a thought !