“Not everyone can leisurely take a bike”: Active travel scheme branded “most expensive cat litter tray in history” by residents threatening to move away from “nightmare” area – but cyclists say town centre will become
“safer and more pleasant place”

The council has apologised for the disruption caused by the road works, but insists the scheme will transform the town centre for residents and
businesses and “greatly improve the experience for pedestrians and cyclists”
by RYAN MALLON
THU, OCT 03, 2024 15:22
9
A public realm improvement scheme, which aims to make Stretford town centre “greener and safer” while “greatly improving the experience of pedestrians
and cyclists”, has been branded the “biggest, most expensive cat litter tray in history” by disgruntled residents and motorists, after 12 months of construction work has left them allegedly ready to “move out”.

However, local cyclists and active travel campaigners, while admitting the works have “dragged on”, say the finished scheme will make Stretford’s town
centre “a more pleasant place for people to live and shop”, and have criticised “impatient” drivers who criticise projects aiming to “improve any mode of transport other than their own”.

According to Trafford Council (link is external), the public realm
improvement works to Stretford’s Kingsway and Barton Road junction will
make the town centre “greener and safer, greatly improving the experience
for pedestrians and cyclists”, through the creation of new cycle lanes, crossing points, footpaths, and green spaces.

Forming part of Trafford Council’s long-term ambition to reduce health inequalities and address the climate crisis, the local authority’s economy and regeneration executive member Liz Patel says the scheme will transform Stretford town centre “into a great place for residents, shoppers, and businesses”.


Fluid logo

Stretford Kingsway improvement works (Dom Cycling) 3
“These new road designs for Kingsway look fabulous and will make the road a safer experience, safer for pedestrians and cyclists and will complement
the redevelopment work currently taking place at Stretford Mall,” Patel
said earlier this year.

“Lots of exciting work is taking place in Stretford and the town centre
will be amazing when the work is completed.”

However, with 12 months of construction work only now nearing completion,
some residents have been openly critical of the project, claiming that it
is causing congestion and long delays.

Stretford improvement works (Trafford Council)
“It’s a complete waste of money. No one I talk to when I’m walking my dog on Victoria Park has a good word to say about it,” 79-year-old Dave Cowell told the Manchester Evening News (link is external) this week.

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“It’s the biggest, most expensive cat litter tray in history, as far as I am concerned. I’m so fed up, I’m planning to move out of Stretford. I’ve had enough.”

Meanwhile, Roya Nasiri, who runs a beauty parlour on Kingsway, said her
takings have gone down by more than half since construction began on the scheme.

“It’s been a total nightmare,” she said. “This should all have been finished a long time ago. They’ve caused all this disruption, but you never see any work going on. It’s crazy.”

“I travel into Stretford Mall every day by car,” Joane Scott wrote on Facebook. “I don’t mind being stuck in traffic. It’s going to be beneficial
in the long run. What I do mind, though, is while the traffic is at a standstill at the red lights for at least 10 minutes, I can’t see any men
at work anywhere.”

“The reality is cyclists are going places”: Ontario premier slammed for “put cyclists on secondary roads” stance, amid “ineffective and dangerous” plans to block bike lane projects

Meanwhile, utilising a narrative commonly deployed by opponents of cycling infrastructure, Michelle Osborne claimed that the apparent increased
congestion and creation of cycle lanes in the area would only benefit “leisure” cyclists, claiming that “not everyone can leisurely take a bike”.

“It’s actually a daily battle to get through Stretford. No wonder people are always in bad moods. Trying to get to work/school is a nightmare,” she said.

“Not everyone can leisurely take a bike. This work has been going on the 18 months. No wonder people of Urmston, Stretford and Chorlton are unhappy.”

Stretford Kingsway improvement works (Dom Cycling) 2
However, in response to this criticism – which once again appears to
situate cycling as the exclusive preserve of able-bodied, leisure types – Harrie Larrington-Spencer, a disabled cycling campaigner and researcher at
the University of Salford who specialises in inclusive active travel, said: “I think the scheme is really nice and can’t wait till it’s finished”.

She continued: “Why are drivers so impatient when something is to improve
any other mode of transport than their own?”

“We are getting there, albeit slowly,” added Sarah. “I will never understand residents who’d prefer a dual carriageway past their homes than some plants, a narrower road and nice things to look at. It makes zero sense.”

“It was an unsafe, shocking 1960s racetrack before, now look at it,” another resident wrote. “When I’ve been passing, there are people using the benches and kids playing. For that, it’s more than worth it.”

“The works have dragged on, but Stretford will become a greener, safer and more pleasant place for people to live and shop,” said local active travel campaign group Walk Ride GM.

“Cyclists dismount” sign put up as roadworks begin on “ham-fisted” bike
lane repeatedly targeted by “brazen” cone-stealing vandals, despite road being open to motor traffic

“The public realm Improvement works to Kingsway and the Barton Road
junction are due to be completed in the next few weeks,” a Trafford Council spokesperson said.

“These works will make this part of Stretford greener and safer for pedestrians by replacing the barrier lined dual carriageway that divided Stretford town centre from neighbouring residential areas.

“The council would like to recognise and apologise for the disruption
caused during the highway improvement, safety and resurfacing work in and around Stretford town centre.

“The works will transform the town centre into a place that better meets
the needs of local residents and businesses and includes new crossing
points, bus stops, lighting, footpaths, seating, planting, and trees. This
new highway is being resurfaced during these final stages.

“To carry out the work, there will be some overnight road closures for five nights starting from (today) September 30. We are also working to provide permanent cycle lanes on Chester Road to provide safer travel active travel routes along the busy A56.”

"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"

The creation of this protected cycling infrastructure on the A56 hasn’t
been without its hiccups, however.

Last August, Trafford Council finally committed to introducing segregated cycling infrastructure on one of the city’s busiest and most talked about routes, after multiple instances of vandalism which saw the flimsy cones separating the current cycle lane from motor traffic being removed and
stacked at the side of the road by upset locals, transforming the purported bike lane back into one for cars and prompting the local authority to
announce that the police had been involved.

a56 pop-up lane - via onetrafford.PNG
And in July this year, Trafford Council announced that the much-maligned “ham-fisted” cones are set to make way for new, properly protected active travel infrastructure, after £2m of investment was approved – though the local authority were soon on the receiving end of criticism after ‘Cyclists Dismount’ signs were employed as construction work began on the lane,
despite the road still being open to motor traffic.

<https://road.cc/content/news/locals-threaten-move-due-active-travel-works-310615>

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