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Timperley Cycle Lane (via WalkRideAlty on Twitter)Trafford Council removes A56 pop-up cycle lane after drivers complain
Trafford Council has removed a pop-up cycle lane installed on the A56 at the weekend following complaints from drivers about congestion.
The Labour-run council had put the temporary infrastructure in place as part of a seven-mile cycle route from Altrincham into Manchester city centre.
Pleased to report that the "Bee 56" now reaches #Timperley! A big welcome to those who venture south. A safe travel option for students @TraffordCollege. Looking forward to it reaching #Broadheath and #Altrincham. Photos taken 9pm last night to a soundtrack of birdsong. pic.twitter.com/poF2IMqG4Y
— WalkRideAlty (@WalkRideAlty) June 23, 2020
However, Altrincham Today reports that a section of the route, which had been hailed by the council as a “bold step” was removed this morning.
The route out of the city centre now finishes in Sale instead of continuing to Altrincham, with the cycle lane removed from the A56 as it approaches the Park Road junction in West Timperley.
Yesterday, a number of motorists took to social media to complain about traffic congestion that they said were caused by the cycle lane.
Conservative councillors in Trafford – four in five of whom represent wards that are in the Altrincham & Sale West parliamentary constituency – had also called for the lane to be removed.
Councillor Nathan Evans of the Timperley Ward, said: “We certainly need safe cycle routes but at a time when we need maximum opportunity for access to work and limited use of public transport, simply halving the main route into Manchester, without proper consideration or any consultation with local residents, is the wrong decision.”
12 hours later, the cycle lane is gone... pic.twitter.com/KRy1NRLcqo
— WalkRideAlty (@WalkRideAlty) June 23, 2020
The emergency infrastructure had been put in place using money from Greater Manchester Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund.
It followed calls from the government for local authorities to put emergency infrastructure in place to protect cyclists and walkers and enable social distancing.
Such infrastructure, the government said, would not only ease pressure on public transport as lockdown eases, but also encourage people to leave their cars at home and thereby avoid the very gridlock that motorists in Trafford complained about.
Earlier this month, we reported how South Gloucestershire Council had removed a temporary cycle lane in Filton after just five days following similar complaints from drivers.
Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, said: “Public transport is operating at limited capacity and motor traffic levels are increasing again, so councils have to act quickly to make space for people walking and cycling.
“It’s therefore inevitable that after doing so, some will decide to review or amend certain schemes, hopefully improving them in the process.
“But it’s crucial that cycle lanes aren’t removed within hours just because of concerns that journey times for some people in cars might have temporarily increased.
“Councils need to think about the movement of people, not merely the movement of motor vehicles, and roads with cycle lanes move more people.
“The A56 between Altrincham and Manchester city centre is a road that could potentially become a key active travel corridor, but only if cyclists have protected space.
“Yes, by all means tweak the temporary scheme if needed, but it’s simply unrealistic to expect engrained travel habits to change overnight, and for there to be no teething problems.
“Cycling UK would therefore urge the council to think about the wider benefits for everyone, and the people in Trafford who don’t have a car, not just the voices of those unhappy that their particular car journey was delayed,” he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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22 comments
Witnessed whats left of it today when I went out in the car to pick up my wife and daughter.
It's a total mess. Not much signage and from a far it just looks like standard roadworks. Nice idea but very poor execution.
Call me a cynic but this installation and quick removal looks like a way for councils to say "we spent £X million on cycling infrastructure in 2020" without the inconvenience of actually doing something useful.
I don't know - looking at the photos of 'before' and 'after', it looks like they spent a few hundred quid on some traffic cones and that's all, folks! Maybe they just got rid of it because they needed the cones somewhere else...
I live off the a56 and the the road is the main artery into the city centre and the traffic can be really bad as expected.
The great thing about this area is the bridgewater canal runs parallel all the way into town. I commute by bike almost daily to trafford park and the surfaces are mostly great. Plus it's relatively quiet. The odd dog walker/ped is less of a hassle than traffic lights etc. The message of them adding and removing it so soon isn't great but at least there is a viable alternative.
Not on a road bike there isn't. Tried riding down there when it rains on a road bike?
Yeah, everyday. It's not too bad. Just gets a bit lumpy as the tree roots have caused the surface to rise as you pass Kellogg's. I use 36mm rubber on a steel frame road bike and it's fine.
Wouldn't take my carbon race bike down there but have to choose the right tool for the job.
im not saying closing the lane is right, just that there are options.
Meanwhile, in a parallel sane Universe:
'Trafford Council closes A56 to motor vehicles after cyclists and pedestrians complain'
Idiot councillors. If they knew all along that at the first hint of protest they would cave and reverse the decision, why waste the money? If they did not know what their own mind would be in the face of protest, and had to wait for the protest to discover their own mind, they should not be in post. If they did not know that motorists would protest, they should not be in post.
As much as I like the idea of more cycling related infrastructure, it's a good thing when politicians can admit they've made a mistake and reverse a decision. Not knowing the area, I can't meaningfully comment on whether it would've worked or not or whether there was a better place for spending the money.
But they have not done that. To know whether it was a mistake is to measure the success or failure, which takes some time. Monitor the throughflow of bodies before and after, allowing time for the changes to ripple out to people's travel habits.
Any change creates criticism from some quarter. They have simply caved in to the reflex criticism from those who did not like the change, which is always entirely predictable. If they knew they would not withstand any protest, why start?
Well, they've measured the success by how many motorists have opposed it. I daresay that you're right and they've caved in too early, but I still think the attempt could have been worthwhile.
I've not used the cycle lanes that end of the A56, I have to say the ones between Stretford and the city are a bit of a mess, confusing signs, cones all over the lane, what look like "ride here" cones that are so close together that you couldn't carry much in the way of speed through them, and the frequent points where a bus stop, turning etc. just halts them. A great idea, and I am not complaining at all, but I can entirely understand why drivers would feel frustrated when they don't look very usable, and very few cyclists (in real terms) are taking advantage.
It also doesn't help that coming off the M60 clockwise at J7 then turning right to head towards the city, the lanes are closed off in a "wonky" manner, meaning any drivers unfamiliar with the temporary arrangements are essentially forced into the adjacent lane (albeit all drivers) which is just peculiar, then if like me, you are going in the direction of Urmston you then have to cross the cones which filter round.
I've personally never been a fan of cycle lanes, they just seem divisive, would far rather see a "all road users share the space" approach - but I'm possibly in the minority on that?
The quiet lockdown roads are gone, just a temporary blip. Government emergency funding is being wasted. It has a fundamental flaw that if you just impose these solutions on the population it never goes down well. You need to spend time, maybe years, getting the locals on your side before making such radical changes. I foresee the pop-up cycle lane idea being reviewed later as a failure. Pity, because I wish it wasnt so.
Not necessarily true e.g. there are lots of examples of temporary schemes, to be reviewed in a year, which garner massive opposition, only to be confirmed a year later because they worked. The same applies to these pop up bike lanes; if they'd been given a chance, it is highly likely that they would have worked, but we'll never know because the lily-livered local politicians rip them out at the first sign of opposition.
I like the ideas of the guy who put in bike lanes in Seville:
I live near the junction in question, the outcry in local social media when there is any action on cycle lanes is predictable and depressing. No driver thinks they are part of the problem, no consideration of pollution and all the usual road tax, RLJ, no helmets, delaying my journey whining.
I despai of attitudes changing and years of education are required.
Drivers complaining about congestion? A bit like complaining about obesity when you exist on a diet of beer and chips.
I wonder if it had occurred to any of them that if they rode a bike, they'd go straight past the congestion. Clearly not. Cue messages about my car journey being essential, not like all the other lazy people, and I have to carry equipment everywhere to do my job, I would cycle but it's too dangerous, etc, etc.
Such a shame that this was taken out as soon as a few drivers complained, they could have at least given it a month.
Cars are a supposed status symbol, you know, make it appear that you have money unlike the hoi polloi who cycle or god forbid take the bus.
It's a real shame, it's a great opportunity throughout the summer to encourage a different mind set not only of motorists, but pedestrians too. As noted above, by all means remove the lanes if there is no usage, but to do so so quickly is just kow towing to the car driving majority and never changes the status quo.
They would be if people actually drove good cars. What I mostly see are the likes of Corsas and 500s and motors of that type. Not exactly the symbol of wealth or coolness. If anything they demonstrate a pathological disinterest in motoring and people only drive them because........well I don't know. Probably to show the world how poor they are, sort of backs up their claim to welfare or the "woe is me" thing.
I'm not a car driver but if I absolutely had to have a car, it would be something that could out accelerate my hair. **** me people drive painfully slow these days.
I'm not a car driver but if I absolutely had to have a car, it would be something that could out accelerate my hair. **** me people drive painfully slow these days.
[/quote]
I am glad you are not a car driver.
Seriously ?
Are you for real or just a troll bot ?
They could be real and very, very stupid.