Work starts on Ashton Canal cycle route linking Manchester city centre with Sportcity

The £20m is for the whole Cycle City programme including seven routes, Partner Schools and Cycle & Ride stations, not just the Ashton Canal.

Those steps are alreet on a road bike. They're not even 'steps' really, just an inch or two deep. The ones between Stalyvegas and Ashton are deeper but still OK. They're rideable *up*, let alone down...!

I'd rather they weren't there, but they're certainly rideable. Get watching 'Road Bike Party'

farell - the surface around the NCC is fine. Further towards Ashton it's a shambles. Some stretches don't dry out in the height of summer.

' it's simply too dangerous for most cyclists to use.'

That is absolute unmitigated toss.

Also, quite a lot of us in 'the sticks' voted 'for'. Most of my city centre-living colleagues voted 'against'. Small sample size of course, but please don't automatically apportion the blame that way.

The congestion charge was rejected because they allowed folk in the sticks to vote on the actions of a council they don't even live in.

It was the equivalent of making trains free and then asking commuters if they'd like to start paying for it's use.

If things are made free then they will be used to capacity, that's a golden rule of public services.

I cycle from Oldham to Hulme each day, I find that traffic from great Ancoats all the way to the mancunian way is at a standstill, with drivers cutting across each other and systematically parking on or across junctions.

The fact is that traffic levels in manchester city centre are too high, one of the first steps the council must take is to restrict the types and times vehicles are using city centre roads. Otherwise it's simply too dangerous for most cyclists to use.

Twenty.

Million.

Pounds.

The surface is already fine on that towpath, there is absolutely no way that resurfacing it a decent level is going to cost that much. Absolutely no way. Someone is getting a seriously hefty back hander.

And Andy P, I'd be wary of using the term 'get off' when talking about the stretch of canal around Ducie Street!

'Lets hope that it is lit, otherwise it'll be useless to commuters during the winter months.'

It's fine for commuters during the winter months at the moment, I can't see it being any worse with a different surface.

'Further to that, what are you meantt o do when you arrive at the city centre, the current road system is at a standstill, and the drivers have difficultly spotting and avoiding trams, what hope with bikes?'

where are you heading once you get off? I get off at Ducie Street, from where it's absolutely fine to get anywhere in the city?

Lets hope that it is lit, otherwise it'll be useless to commuters during the winter months.

Further to that, what are you meantt o do when you arrive at the city centre, the current road system is at a standstill, and the drivers have difficultly spotting and avoiding trams, what hope with bikes?

Last night I saw not just the usual talking on mobiles, but a taxi driver watching music videos on his mobile whilst navigating the traffic on Portland street, the same place a pedestrian was killed a fortnight ago. meanwhile a dozen PCSO were on Oxford road stopping cyclists on the pavement

If it's done properly, I would actually use this route on occasion.

Manchester in 'doing something worthwhile for cyclists' shocker.