I braved Deansgate’s new cycle lane on my Bee Network bike — what works, what doesn’t, and why it's confusing
Deansgate is one of those perennial Mancunian talking points. It looks very different to a decade ago, and will probably be unrecognisable in another 10 years if Manchester council plans to get more people cycling and walking come to fruition.
The latest project — to make the thoroughfare one-way and build a new bike lane outside Great Northern Warehouse — began last August, and was completed at Easter.
It was controversial.
Queues on Deansgate around Christmas had motorists, taxi drivers, and business owners up in arms. But cyclists said it became a ‘much nicer place to be’ because it’s ‘quieter and calmer’.
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Now the new infrastructure is a few months old, I cycled the length of Deansgate on a blazing hot lunchtime this week to see if it’s an improvement.
Starting by Whitworth Street West, what struck me was how smooth the ride was. My new electric Bee Bike almost glided along the new tarmac, only jolted by the odd manhole cover.
When I was on the open road, the black and white ‘wand orca’ bollards put enough distance between my two-wheel-steed and the two-tonne SUVs heading in the opposite direction.
New bicycle-specific traffic lights were very clear, giving myself confidence to navigate busy junctions safely.
But those crossings presented me with one of a few headaches.
A lot of pedestrians cross the road here. At busy times, there are enough people waiting for the green man to spill into the cycle lane itself.
Some were also unaware both pedestrians and cyclists got the green light simultaneously, and were ambling through the protected bike lane, which felt dangerous.
During my ride, I had a wave of people coming towards me in my cycle lane, and a pedestrian shouted ‘oh my God, I’m so sorry’ when she turned around to see me directly behind her.
Where the pair of us met was perhaps one of the weirder sections of Deansgate’s cycling infrastructure. If you’re going north towards Victoria, and want to turn right up Peter Street, you have to follow the lane to the left, then do a U-turn in the bicycle waiting box at the traffic lights, and turn left.
In effect, you’re doing half a right-turn on a protected cyclops junction, but the lane doesn’t extend far enough, hence the U-turn and left turn with other traffic.
Cyclopses are popular in suburban Greater Manchester, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the council’s initial plan was to install one here, but it was canned after worries the bike infrastructure would take too much space from the pavements.
It’s very counter-intuitive, but the ‘no right turn’ instruction and information signs leave you in no doubt you can’t turn across traffic like you normally would.
But near John Rylands Library, turning across traffic is required if you’re heading south, towards the Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop. There is no protected bike lane on the first part of your route, and once you get your own lane, you’re told to turn across motor traffic to join another bi-directional lane outside the library.
Again, it feels counter-intuitive.
Some of these issues — like people walking in bike lanes, located where the temporary crossings sat during the roadworks — are teething problems.
But the amount of people and deliveries is nothing new. I can’t help but think another road, which has to deal with less traffic and fewer pedestrians may have been a better choice for a cross-city bike lane, although alternative routes are admittedly scant.
In any case, council data suggests a ‘build it and they will come’ approach does work. Cycling rose by 85pc in 18 months when new infrastructure was installed in Chorlton.
Tracey Rawlins, executive councillor for transport, expects a similar phenomenon on Deansgate. She said after officially opening the route last week: “When the infrastructure is put in place, it can act as the key which unlocks people’s ability to get on a bike and choose cycling.
“We understand that for some people there is a barrier and that’s why schemes like these are so valuable.
“By re-shaping our transport network we are showing that positive interventions do have the power to change people’s behaviour, ultimately helping people lead healthier lives, creating healthier communities and contribute to the wider fight against climate change across Greater Manchester.”
Although an improvement for cycling, Deansgate still doesn’t quite work for everyone — but it may do in time.