07.05.20
Greater Manchester launches £5m active travel plan
Leaders across Greater Manchester have pushed forward their ambitious travel plans as up to £5m of emergency funding is made available to recover from the impact of covid-19.
Yesterday (May 6) saw the launch of Safe Streets Save Lives, a campaign to support social distancing in the city region during lockdown and beyond.
The campaign centres around creating space for pedestrians and cyclists to carry out essential journeys and exercise whilst maintaining a safe distance, through pop-up infrastructure.
Pop-up measures such as footway extensions, one-way streets, eliminating through traffic on certain roads and adding extra cycle lanes are being prioritised.
Funding worth £5m, made available through the Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund, will help to manage areas such as outside shops, transport hubs or routes to hospitals in the districts.
Walking and Cycling now account for approximately 33% of all journeys across Greater Manchester, as traffic volumes experience a 60% fall, with cycling up 22% compared to before lockdown restrictions began.
The positive effects of these changes have been less congestion and a significant drop in pollution, two things that Greater Manchester is looking to take forward in its recovery plan to Build Back Better and become carbon neutral by 2038.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Greater Manchester has been leading the way with our plans to build the largest walking and cycling network in the UK. A number of cities around the world have begun implementing measures to enable safe essential travel and exercise during lockdown. As part of our efforts to Build Back Better in Greater Manchester, we’re taking the same, bold approach - Safe Streets really do Save Lives.
“Peoples’ travel behaviour across our city region has transformed during lockdown. As more people turn to walking and cycling, we want that to continue as we move into life beyond lockdown. That’s why we’ve proposed measures, backed by up to £5m of funding, to create space which allows people to continue making safe, sustainable journeys.
“Whatever peoples’ motivation - these choices are contributing to cleaning up our city’s air and causing less congestion on our roads, and that’s something we must sustain for the immediate future.”
New measures will be introduced in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Sale, Stretford and Wigan.