Parts of Salford and Greater Manchester have the highest rates of pollution in the country and, in an effort to sort this, today Greater Manchester Mayor, Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris Boardman, and Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, were in Chapel Street to launch a massive new scheme titled Beelines.
The network, stretching right across Greater Manchester, will have over one thousand miles of routes, including 75 miles of Dutch-style segregated bike lanes, as politicians try to make the region more akin to places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, where cycling and walking make up 25% of all journeys.
In the Netherlands, fifty per cent of children cycle to school every day, whereas in Greater Manchester the number is less than two per cent.
The plans also include 1,400 safer road crossings on the majority of routes and 25 'filtered neighbourhoods' where priority will be given to the movement of people.
Salford has submitted proposals for 'Chapel Street East', with the scheme being described as 'modelled on the best Dutch streets including continuous footways and cycle tracks, implied zebras, traffic-calming, street trees and planting'...There are also plans for cycle routes right across the city (see map).
The fist list of routes to be built this year will be published next month by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
While the plans are ambitious, the finances are eye-watering, with an eventual cost of £1.5billion, a current budget of £500million, and £160million to be spent over the next four years from the Government's Transforming Cities Fund - £10million in 2018/19 and £50million per year over the following three years. GM Mayor, Andy Burnham, is adamant that it's money well spent...
"This proposal is bold and I make no apology for that" he says "If we're to cut congestion and clean up our air, decisive action is needed. I want to make Greater Manchester one of the top ten places in the world to live and it's action of this sort which will help to deliver that promise.
"This will help to tackle congestion and it will help to tackle poor air quality, as well as boosting people's health and fitness levels" he adds "We have £160m to get us started and we have a plan that has something in it for every single person in Greater Manchester."
Greater Manchester's Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris Boardman, is also well up for the plan... "It's not really about people using bikes and walking it's about making better places to live and work by giving people a real choice about how they travel" he explains "In doing so, we'll make the city-region healthier and more prosperous.
"We've seen from other global cities that these methods work and the benefits are there for all to see we simply can't afford to be left behind" he adds "So now the hard work begins and we'll be working closely with all local authorities and partners to deliver this plan as urgently as possible.
"Planners, engineers and, most importantly, local people in each council area led on creating the first draft of these plans, which will evolve in the months and years ahead" he says "By involving local people from the very first stage, and enabling them to inform the details of each proposed route and crossing, we'll get the outcome they need, not what we think they need.
"That's why we've taken the decision to create a first draft then immediately make it available to the public" he adds "This will be Greater Manchester's network and it's important that residents' voices are the loudest, that they own it from start to finish."
Government Minister for Cycling and Walking, Jesse Norman MP, whose department coughed up the initial funding, is also enthusiastic: "This is a really exciting plan to encourage more people to cycle and walk" he says "But at the same time it will improve air quality, reduce congestion and improve health, by giving local people real alternatives to driving."
For more details on the Beelines plans click here
Main photo shows Beelines routes in Salford coloured yellow
To see the plans for Salford click here
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