On track for cycling
PROPOSALS for a new £1.2 million cycling lane system have been praised as ‘money well spent’.
Plans for the borough’s biggest cycling infrastructure project are being developed after regional transport bosses signalled their backing for the plans.
Almost one kilometre of new cycle lanes will be installed on Manchester Road in Castleton if the £1.2m plans are approved.
The proposal by Rochdale council includes reallocating existing road space to allow for better walking and cycling through Castleton, improved links to the town’s railway station and creating new, safer raised road crossings in a number of locations. Castleton Councillor Aasim Rashid said he was ‘delighted’ with the proposals.
He said: “I think this is a good opportunity for Castleton.
“I welcome it – it’s beneficial for residents and cyclists and as a ward councillor I think it’s a good idea.
“There have been issues raised to me before about safe lanes and Manchester Road particularly has had a lot of accidents.
“I think it’s money well spent and Castleton Station will be a hub so I very much welcome this project.”
David Trippier, secretary of the Rochdale Cyclists Touring Club and the East Lancs Road Club, says he was part of an advisory group of cyclists who were consulted by Transport for Greater Manchester and welcomes the news.
He said: “Unequivocally I’d say this is great news – though it needs to be a good design.
“As a rider I see so many cycle lanes and signage that are poorly designed that cyclists don’t even use them.
“If you’re spending £1.2m you need people to use them. If they’re well designed with an uninterrupted flow then cyclists will use them.”
David hopes the new cycle lanes will encourage those wary of going on the roads.
He said: “There are so many people who don’t cycle because they aren’t keen on going on the roads because of the traffic – they feel it’s unsafe.”
The major walking and cycling infrastructure improvements are being developed as part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Bee Lines strategy, which is led by Olympic gold medal-winning and Tour de France stage winner Chris Boardman.
Boardman, Greater Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, developed the idea of a cycling and walking network made up of more than 1,000 miles of routes, including 75 miles of Dutch-style segregated bike lanes.
David says that this could eventually lead to a better cycling link between north and south Manchester.
He said: “At the moment you don’t get north Manchester clubs cycling in south Manchester because there’s no link.
“This is great news because if there’s a way through Castleton then a link into south Manchester allows commuting and opens up Cheshire for leisure riding.”
‘Beelines’ will be the largest joined-up system of walking and cycling routes in the UK and has been developed with all 10 Greater Manchester local authorities.
Coun Neil Emmott, the council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “This is a really exciting proposal, which will have huge benefits for Castleton – by providing the kind of safe cycling space that we have seen work so well in other places.
“I’m looking forward to the plans being developed and hope that Castleton residents will see the benefits it could bring.”
Over the next few weeks council highways engineers will be carrying out survey work in the area before public engagement events are held, which will give local residents and businesses a chance to take a closer look at the plans and ask any questions they may have.