Drivers face city centre road delays

WORK is due to start on changes to one of Manchester city centre’s busiest roundabouts.

Major changes to the junction where Princess Road meets the Mancunian Way and Medlock Street should start today.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) say the work will start outside of peak travel times, but say motorists should be aware.

Manchester council is spending around £10m to replace the roundabout with new and widened roads to allow direct access to the city centre and Mancunian Way from Princess Road.

The slip roads on and off the Mancunian Way will be also widened.

New footpaths, improved access for cyclists and landscaping are included in the scheme.

The aim to ease congestion at one of the busiest points of the inner ring road - and therefore reduce air pollution. The first phase of work, running until next month, will include closing the subways, site security and clearance, and drainage work.

Funding of £5m was secured following a successful bid to the Department for Transport in 2017.

A further £2.9m came from the Mayor’s Challenge Fund designed to deliver the Greater Manchester Beeline Network. The council said the scheme will not begin in earnest until the Regent Road roadworks had been finished.

While commuters will be concerned about a fresh headache when accessing the city centre, the Princess Road project has already attracted criticism from residents on the Redbrick estate, six rows of housing that are adjacent to the roundabout.

The original design would have destroyed Rockdove Gardens, a treasured patch of green space that provides a natural barrier to noise and pollution that has been tended to by residents for more than 40 years.

A grass-roots campaign has successfully led to a re-think and Manchester council confirmed the gardens will not be touched under their final blueprint.

But campaigners in Hulme say they have been ignored and question transport bosses claim that increasing capacity at the road will lead to less congestion and improve air quality.

The Redbricks campaign tweeted: “We’re glad Rockdove Gardens will be saved but we’re still appalled by the car centric redevelopment which will cut down many other old trees, especially those providing a barrier for our neighbours. We need redevelopments tackling the climate crisis not shortening drivers’ commutes.”

Annette Wright, councillor for Hulme ward, welcomed the final design but said the council must do better at consulting residents.