Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Your Lib Dem team for Cheadle West & Gatley Learn more
by Lib Dem team on 17 March, 2012
The Highways Agency work to expand the motorway sliproad to three lanes looks to be moving ahead. Trees and bushes have already been cleared away from the banks and work is scheduled to start next Saturday and finish in June.
The Lib Dem breakthrough was to link the sliproad changes with improvements to the Kingsway junction. The Highways Agency have always been one of the key blockers to plans to alter the junction, and have stopped previous plans to improve the right turn from Cheadle and Gatley.
We ensured that the two plans were linked together, so the expansion of the slip road went hand-in-hand with the changes to the Kingsway Junction.
We will be pressing for the timing changes to the junction – which are predicted reduce the right-turn times by up to 80% – to be introduced as soon as the sliproad is complete. We had originally expected that to be at the end of the summer, so we’re very pleased that we might well be able to bring it forward to as early as June.
10 Comments
At the same time how about reducing the speed limit on the north bound A34, from the lights at Gatley Road up to the river, to 30 mph. I cycle this route frequently and have to take the middle lane as the inner lane is for the motorway. This stretch of road is DANGEROUS FOR CYCLISTS. They zoom past me on both sides at well over 40. I have mentioned this on a number of occasions but I may as well as p~~~ in the wind for all the good it does. I have informed my family and friends of this hazard and if anything happens they will seek legal advice against the council for ignoring my warnings.
Hi Bruce,
We have given a great deal of thought to how to make that section of Kingsway safer for cyclists, including consultations on this website asking for suggestions.
I don’t think cycling down the middle will be safe at any speed and I would certainly oppose a change that gave the wrong message that it was. Many cars are pulling onto the motorway sliproad at that point.
The recommended way of cycling down that section of road (from the Cyclecraft book) is to keep to the left side of the road all the way. When you get to the slip road, stop, cross at the narrowest point and then continue on. To get down Kingsway you do that three times, which is far from ideal but a good deal safer than cycling down the middle of the road at any speed.
Alternatively, we are looking at whether off-road cycling can be provided more easily after the Highways Agency changes have been made and, of course, I would recommend less confident cyclists go through Cheadle and along Manchester Road (Cheadle High Street can be avoided by going down The Crescent, Hall Street, Brook Road and Mill Lane).
If you want Stockport to become a ‘greener’ borough then you should encourage residents to ‘get on their bike’.
As for stopping at the motorway and then crossing two motorway lanes well that is fraught with danger. In the morning there is CONTINOUS traffic zooming past at well over the speed limit and I am not going to do that.
And as for going through Cheadle well that is nothing more than a euphemism for abdicating responsibility.
I do not see the problem with reducing the limit – it is only 300 meters or so and the cost would be minimal.
You have been told of the problem but you refuse to take reasonable precautions to minimise the risk.
Hi Bruce,
I’ve been aware of the problem for years, not least as someone who has cycled along that stretch of Kingsway many times myself.
The problem with reducing the speed limit is that I don’t think it would work in making the road safer. Cyclists should not be cycling down the middle lane of a 3-4 line carriageway by motorway slip roads – it will never be safe!
As I say, we continue to look for solutions which would work including a proper off-road route for cyclists to go along the line of the A34.
The suggested alternative route is almost as dangerous. The speed limit on Manchester Road is 40 mph. It is quite narrow in several places and poorly-lit at night owing to overhanging trees. Reducing the speed limit on Kingsway is pointless without enforcement as the current limit is ignored by the majority. The Council should either create a safe signed route for cyclists wishing to use Kingsway or ban them. I do not favour the latter action as it too would be unenforceable.
Manchester Road is one of the most cycled roads in Stockport and has a good safety record – perhaps because it’s a little narrower so cars naturally tend to drive more slowly.
Safety on Manchester Road – as all roads – is a concern and we do need to keep a close eye on it.
I agree that a 30mph limit for a small stretch is unlikely to work. The bypass drops from 50mph to 30mph going south just before the B & Q /Stanley Green roundabouts – if you slow down, cars behind you flash you! Very few people observe that 30mph section.
Might it help if the cycleway was marked out on the road itself, drawing attention to the need for extra care and speed?
Maybe one solution would be to ban cyclists from that stretch of road making a cycle route through Cheadle and down Manchester Road? Of coarse it would only work if people observed it unlike the people who regularly cycle through Gatley lights and many others around the bourogh when they are on red. Which I observe on a daily basis.
as an infrequent cyclist, but one who does obey red lights (i know, very unusual in this area) there roads/junctions i will not cycle on or through. they are not safe to do so, not because motorists are at fault, but simply because they are not appropriate routes for cyclists. if cycling fraternity want more space and their own lanes, they should have the bikes registered, insured and be called to book for not obeying red lights and riding in two and three abreast. one must accept that despite wishing to be ‘greener’ and for politicians to succumb to the ‘popular’ choice for votes, in the real world, a cyclist shouldn’t be allowed hold up dozens of cars at one of the busiest junctions in Stockport. its dangerous and causes more pollution.
Hey Gaz, speaking as a cyclist commuter and driver (full, clean licence, no points ever) maybe another solution that would be better for everyone would be if certain drivers observed the law on that stretch of the A34 e.g. by not driving over the speed limit of 40mph, and not driving dangerously by moving from the outside lane to get onto the M60 at the last second.
While I agree with you that some cyclists do go through red lights*, I also see other people going through red lights every day but they are encased in heavy, metal boxes on four wheels that can do far more damage than a cyclist ever will.
Robert Cohen: I am staggered that you try to pin pollution on cyclists. Do you not think that if more people cycled than drove cars there would actually be less pollution? As for riding “two and three abreast”, the Highway Code actually states “never ride more than two abreast” so there’s nothing illegal in doing that.
*This is a personal annoyance of mine too, mainly because the ones that do it get in my way when I inevitably catch up with them.