Saturday 6 December 2014

MediaCity cycle route closure notice

No sooner have TfGM closed the consultation on the Trafford Park tram line than they have made moves to close the surrounding cycle routes. The building of this line will have a major impact on people commuting to MediaCity from South Manchester and Trafford in the same way that Cross Street has become a no-go route for cycling in the city centre.

This notice appeared a couple of weeks ago along the Trafford side of the Ship Canal. It is a notice of an order to close this path, which is a busy cycle route.



The order contains no plans or anything like that but just says it is giving notice of an order to close the path linking Trafford Wharf Road to the path flanking the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal.



To request a copy of the plans you have to email Phil.Goodfield@tfgm.com and ask for a copy of the plans. Objections have to be in by 23rd December, so we don't have long.

If this is your route too and from work please request a copy of the plans.

You are going to find your route to work closed, possibly for many months if not more than a year.



This is the view from the other side.



This route is part of NCN route 55 so I hope Sustrans will be objecting too.




3 comments:

  1. I have a slight suspicion that this is mostly referring to the section between Sam Platt's and Pomona - which is by no means good cycling territory at present. However we should definitely make sure that they aren't going to impede cycle flow. Last time I spoke to TFGM they were aware of (and surprised by) the cycle traffic using the route so I'd really hope they don't go doing anything daft (though I of course wouldn't put it past them).

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    1. No, it is specifically the official route not the bit down to Sam Platts.

      Yes, TfGM told me they were surprised by their cycle counts being so high, though their numbers seemed low to me. However, I know they don't care about cycling when it comes to building Metrolink, their behavior in the City Centre is just dreadful.

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  2. I obviously can't vouch for the accuracy of the below diagram, but it shows the intention is to align the tram tracks down along the waterfront from Alex Ferguson Way to beyond Waterside (just short of the bridge to the Lowry Theatre), which would totally butcher the very well used cycle route.

    http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=119491950&postcount=40354

    I certainly would count this as daft, given I believe the original plan was to run the line adjacent to Trafford Wharf Road.

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