Six more cycling and walking schemes in Greater Manchester moving forward with £13m Government cash boost

Six more schemes to boost cycling and walking in Greater Manchester funded by the Government have been announced.

The city-region has received £13m from the national Active Travel Fund which will be spent in Manchester, Rochdale, Salford and Tameside.

It is hoped that the schemes will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and choose greener and more active modes of travel, particularly for shorter trips.

The latest Government cash boost for the city-region has been celebrated by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the city-region’s active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey.

What funding has Greater Manchester received for cycling and walking?

Greater Manchester has received £13m from the Government’s Active Travel Fund to create new schemes to boost cycling and walking.

Six schemes in four of the city-region’s boroughs are set to get the go-ahead, subject to public consultation and further design alterations.

This is the third tranche of funding being released by the Department for Transport (DfT) and means that altogether Greater Manchester has received more than £19m from the Active Travel Fund for schemes in all 10 boroughs and community engagement projects.

The idea of the schemes is that they will make cycling and walking easier, safer and a more attractive proposition for residents.

They include creating protected cycle lanes, building more crossing facilities and rolling out Cyclops junctions that help to keep cyclists, pedestrians and drivers separated where roads meet.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says the new development will form part of the Bee Network, the city-region’s vision for an integrated public transport system.

It was recently announced that Greater Manchester is to get £1.07bn from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) to help deliver the Bee Network.

What are the six schemes in Greater Manchester?

There are two schemes proposed for Manchester using the latest £13.07m cash injection.

On Alan Turing Way there are plans for safety improvements where the road meets Ashton New Road.

This will connect the segregated cycleways on Alan Turing Way and improve links for walking and cycling between the Beswick Active Neighbourhood scheme, the Ashton Canal scheme and the Velodrome.

The second Manchester scheme involves creating a high-quality walking and cycling environment on Fountain Street and High Street in the city centre.

The Rochdale scheme to benefit is phase one of the project to improve conditions for walking and cycling through Castleton town centre from Castleton railway station up to the Royal Toby.

This has also received money from the Mayor’s Challenge Fund.

It involves providing continuous segregated cycle lanes alongside improved walking and wheeling facilities and building two Cyclops junctions and two new pedestrian crossings.

There are also two schemes in Salford set to get the green light.

One is based around Irwell Street and links Trinity Way to New Bailey while providing connections to the wider city centre Bee Network.

It includes protected cycleways and signal-controlled crossings.

The other is the Oldfield Road scheme to build protected cycle lanes from Chapel Street towards Regent Road.

This will include a Cyclops junction where Oldfield Road meets Liverpool Street to link with segregated cycle lanes to and from Manchester city centre.

Finally the latest Government money is set to fund phase one of the A57 Crown Point project in Tameside.

This will create two Cyclops junctions at the Crown Point junction and where the A57 Hyde Road meets Saxon Street.

The idea of this is to make getting to Denton town centre on foot or on two wheels safer and also boosting residents’ health by increasing levels of physical activity and reducing car use.

What has been said about the latest funding announcement?

Andy Burnham, Mayor for Greater Manchester, said: “It’s brilliant that we have been awarded more funding from government that will allow us to continue delivering high quality, accessible and safe active travel infrastructure across GM.

“Over the next 12 months we will continue to build on the plans to make active travel the number one choice in our city-region for everyday trips to work, school and the shops, or as part of a longer journey using public transport.”

Dame Sarah Storey, the Mayor’s active travel commissioner, said: “I’m delighted to receive news of the additional investment from government into the active travel routes across GM.

“At the end of a busy first week in post it’s very clear to see the high ambition across the region, and funding boosts like this enable the momentum to continue.

“I’m looking forward to working with our local authority partners to make these schemes a reality and to enable more people to benefit from choosing active travel for the daily trips.”