A plan by Salford Council to introduce a scheme that `will improve the safety for both cyclists and pedestrians' at the huge roundabout at Irlams O'Th' Height has been slammed by Salford Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) as potentially endangering all users of the multi-route junction.
The roundabout links the East Lancs Road, Bolton Road, Manchester Road and Claremont Road (A580, A6, A666 and B5228) and is one of the busiest in Salford. Now the Council's joint venture company Urban Vision plans to `Narrow the lanes to help reduce the speed of traffic', `create new pedestrian and cycling crossing points', `improve the subways' and `install a new cycle lane between Kingsway and the roundabout'.
Following complaints about the construction chaos on the Leigh Guided Busway on the East Lancs Road, Salford MAG is holding a protest ride this Saturday to object to the Irlams roundabout changes which it claims will cause even more chaos.
"Urban Vision has been given a brief to improve safety for cyclists on that roundabout by putting segregated cycle lanes in - but `segregated lanes' means narrowing the road by about two feet and putting in armadillos, which are humped shape pieces of plastic bolted into road, mixed in with some higher level bollards which can be quite dangerous not just for cyclists but for powered two wheel riders and also car drivers" says Steve `Blayz' Blay of Salford MAG
"MAG is opposed to any alteration of a road where it has the potential to cause harm or damage to motorcyclists" he adds "And in these instances when you narrow the road by a good couple of feet you take away powered two wheeled drivers' ability to manoeuvre more safely and to remove themselves from dangerous situations that are likely to occur with car drivers.
"You can imagine a cyclist who catches one of these armadillos getting flipped out into the road and because there's nowhere for car driver to go he's more likely to get run over" he explains "It's the same for a motorcycle rider as well. Motorists make their decisions based on what's in front of them, not what's going on around them, so if something comes from another direction car drivers' reaction is to make a move and that will endanger other road users because thee road has been narrowed by at least two feet."
Salford Council and Urban Vision held a consultation back in August at the Heights Methodist Church, which Steve argues wasn't a proper consultation...
"They basically put the plans down and said `This is what we're doing'" he recalls "The other cycle lanes in Salford have been arbitrarily put down without any consultation whatsoever. When I asked Urban Vision on what basis they were doing this scheme they said, firstly, that they had been given £2million out of a £20million budget for cycle lanes in the city, and the second reason was the accident statistics for that roundabout for cyclists.
"They couldn't provide those statistics on the day but sent them to me" he adds "Between 2000 and 2012 there were 14 accidents on the roundabout involving cyclists. Only four were classed as serious and there were no fatalities. The rest were minor incidents, including a bloke who got his foot or laces caught in his pedals and fell off.
"When I tried to find out more about the scheme, the Council's officer who looks after the `Cycle Forum' stonewalled me, and told me to look at the plans when the traffic order is in place" he explains "Apparently it's got planning but it's not been published. They've told us this is going ahead and has to be finished by February 2015."
The Salford Star also tried to contact the `Cycle Forum' officer who didn't return our call. Indeed the Cycle Forum doesn't appear to have any public way of contacting it. At least one cycling pressure group that the Star contacted wasn't aware of the plans.
Meanwhile somewhere between fifty and a hundred motorcyclists, including Lembit Opik, intend to converge on Salford this Saturday, meeting at the Henry Boddington pub on Bolton Road at 11am for a noon mass motorcycle demo ride, which calls firstly at the Irlams roundabout, before heading off down Langworthy Road, passing Hazel `biker' Blears' office en route to Salford Quays. From there the convoy goes to the M602 roundabout, down Liverpool Street where armadillos are in place, then to Swinton Civic Centre and back to the Irlams roundabout.
"Anyone with a motorcycle can join us or people can follow in cars" says Steve "This is the first major motorcycle demonstration in Salford for over thirty years."
For further details see the Salford Motorcycle Action Group facebook page – click here
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