"Ham-fisted" cycle lane cones to be replaced with protected cycling infrastructure — as councillor resists urge to "individually remove each traffic cone by drop-kicking"

Local politicians and residents have rejoiced at the decision to remove controversial cycle lane cones from the A56 in Manchester, the much-maligned cones to make way for new active travel infrastructure — including a protected cycle route — after £2m of investment was approved.

Such is the relief that the "ham-fisted" cones will soon be departing a stretch of the A56 in Stretford, Greater Manchester, a Labour councillor for Trafford, Aidan Williams, told the BBC he was "going to resist the urge to individually remove each traffic cone by drop-kicking it".

We have written numerous stories about the cones since they were first introduced in May 2020 as a response to the Covid pandemic, in a bid to encourage more people to cycle journeys. Perhaps the most eye-catching was the news that a brazen vandal had pulled off the "systematic theft" of 600 cones in a display of opposition to the temporary cycle lane.

> Council proposes cycle lane bollards after easily removed cones repeatedly targeted by vandals

Two years earlier more than 3,000 people signed a petition calling for the bike lane to be scrapped, the council now agreeing to get rid of them as Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved a £2m scheme to install a permanent cycle lane and improved walking and wheeling infrastructure.

Local councillors had also expressed opposition to the cones, Conservative councillor Nathan Evans suggesting part of the problem was that they had been introduced in a "ham-fisted way".

"I think there are better ways of doing this," he concluded last year.

Trafford Council has outlined the improvement plans, with protected cycle lanes featuring heavily throughout the proposals for the one-mile stretch of the A56 Chester Road in Stretford.

Images of the potential upgrades show cycle lanes segregated with wand-style bollards from the Talbot Road junction to "a point just north of the M60 Junction 7". This will also be accompanied by a "buffer strip" to increase the distance between the cycle lane and the multiple lanes for motorists.

There will be improved crossings to benefits cyclists and pedestrians, while new vehicle loading restrictions will be introduced on the route to prevent "loading or unloading at any time".

Part of the pop-up cycle lane was removed less than a week after it was first installed during the pandemic, following complaints from motorists.

Last summer, the police were involved after cones were removed from the A56 in a "systematic theft" that prompted cyclists to urge the council to bypass the conflict and make the roads safer by installing a proper protected cycle lane.

Following the announcement of the plans, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham defended the idea for a new segregated cycle path.

"The world where drivers dominate and cars have got all the road – we just can't be in that world anymore because life is changing," he said.