Lane change could cut minutes off Kingsway journeys
October 3, 2012 Iain Roberts 12 Comments

The Lib Dems have for some years been working on improving the Kingsway junction – built back in 1959, far too small by modern standards and one of the busiest junctions in Greater Manchester.

The left-turn lane from Gatley made a difference.  The new slip road off the motorway, and the timing change at the lights that will follow, should make a big difference when it goes in later this year.

Now the Lib Dems are proposing changing the lanes northbound, which could cut up to seven minutes off the journeys of people travelling into Manchester along Kingsway.

Think about approaching the Kingsway junction from Cheadle Royal – heading into Manchester.  There are three lanes.  The inside lane is for Gatley, the South Park Road Estate, M60 Westbound and M60 Eastbound.  The other two lanes are for Manchester.

The result, as we all know, is that we get much longer queues in the inside lane, shorter ones in the middle lane and the shortest queues in the outside lane.  Often the inside lane will still be passing through the lights when the other two are empty.  We also have people who go through in the middle and outside lanes and then cut across to the inside lane to get the motorway – a maneuver that’s understandable, but both dangerous and slowing down the traffic even more.

This proposal will see the lanes re-ordered.  The inside lane will be for Gatley, the South Park Road Estate and the M60 Westbound.  The middle lane will be for the M60 Eastbound and for Manchester, with the outside lane being the only one exclusively for Manchester.

That should mean the traffic being far more evenly distributed between the lanes, leading to an estimated 9% more vehicles getting through at each change of the lights in peak times.  There’ll also be less reason for people to weave across lanes after going through the lights.

The initial analysis is that this will reduce queues on the A34 and on the Cheadle Royal roundabout.  Morning journeys could be speeded up by as much as 4 minutes, evening trips by 7 minutes.  (We think these are almost certainly optimistic estimates, but even if it’s half that it would make a massive difference, given the thousands of cars that pass through the junction every day).

The proposals come to Cheadle Area Committee next Tuesday – we’ll keep you informed.

streets, transport

12 Comments

1
Lucas
Wednesday 3 October 2012 - 9:23 pm

Iain – there isn’t currently any indication before the lights as to which lane drivers should use, is there?

There’s nothing until the first gantry after the lights. And that gantry could be causing many of the late lane changes because it’s so misleading. At first glance – and a glance is all that should be needed – it says lane 1 for M60 west, lane 2 for M60 east, and lane 3 for A34.

Is there enough traffic to justify more than one lane to stay on the A34 anyway? If it remained single until a lane gain when the M56 junction 1 joined, that would cut down queues on the motorway.

2
Iain Roberts
Friday 5 October 2012 - 10:53 am

We’ve looked at the option having just the outside lane for Manchester and for various reasons feel it isn’t the best option and this should work better.

3
Alan Gent
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 10:13 am

Nothing for Cheadle in this is there. Queues were stretching back to the White Hart this week, trying to get through the lights.
Maybe if we made it harder for people on the A34, they’d use the train which runs alongside the A34 all the way into Manchester………

4
Iain Roberts
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 10:20 am

That comment seems a bit unfair when this very week we’ve been looking at improvements that could make a big difference to Cheadle, and that’s on top of the right-turn improvements on the way.

Not every individual improvement tackles every problem – it’s about putting them together and there’s lots we’re working on for Cheadle.

5
bruce thwaite
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 11:57 am

I think your predictions are rather optimistic. Drivers will just go for the shortest queue and then cut across – as they do now.

Question – where do cyclists go?

6
Iain Roberts
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 12:06 pm

Hi Bruce – I think the modelling predictions are a little optimistic too, but even if they are, it should still give us big improvements.

Good question on cyclists – something that’s been a big part of the work. This particular change makes little difference to cyclists. Those who choose to cycle down the middle of the road (something I wouldn’t recommend) can continue to do so as now. Those who choose to cycle down the side of the road and stop to cross the motorway slip roads at 90 degrees when clear (a safer option) can also continue to do so as now.

However, there is work in progress to provide improved cycle routes right up to Parrs Wood. The first part of that work is already being done: the pavements and new Toucan crossing across the end of the M60 slip road. The other sections are being planned to make it easier and safer to cycle from Cheadle/Gatley to Parrs Wood.

7
richard horsnell
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 12:50 pm

There is a lot going on this stretch of road (speed cameras, school, layby, lange changing to avoid cheadle slip then chnage back etcfor next next junction). Good, early signage will key for the success of the proposed changes, along with the hope that drivers will do as directed.

Despite the road works onto the A34 southbound slip, the merge in turn signs seem to be working well and my experience has been that using this junction during the peak time with the road works is better than using it withouth roadworks!

The proposals sound good for getting onto the M60. What are the implications for those getting out of the SP estate that don’t want he M60?

8
David Brown
Sunday 7 October 2012 - 8:22 pm

The reason that this junction is so busy, and will always be busy no matter what tinkering is done, is because the Council has allowed, and continues to allow, development along the A34.

The proposal to allow 1000 houses in Woodford will only bring additional traffic onto to the A34 and consequently into the Kingsway junction.

9
Alan Gent
Monday 8 October 2012 - 7:52 am

Iain I’m aware of the Cheadle initiative. We’re talking specifics here and the running sore of having to put up with long traffic queues just to accommodate people passing through the area to speed their journey, whilst our journeys suffer. The irony is, previous conversations have suggested that we couldn’t have a right turn filter for Cheadle as traffic accessing the A34 would then back onto the M60 – and thats exactly what’s happening now every day during the road works

10
Iain Roberts
Monday 8 October 2012 - 8:10 am

Hi Alan,

The whole deal with the works currently on the motorway slip road is to get the improvements in right-turn from Cheadle and Gatley as part of the package. That improvement has always been our top priority which is why we made sure that would happen first.

In addition to that, we’re now grabbing the opportunity to reduce northbound queues and improve the route for cyclists.

And you’re right to point out that situations which would be totally unacceptable on a long-term basis are sometimes permitted as the best short-term option, where you’re improving the roads and that’s the only sensible way to do it.

11
Alan Gent
Wednesday 10 October 2012 - 9:45 pm

Iain thats not what I meant and you know it.

12
Chris Leuty
Thursday 11 October 2012 - 12:23 pm

One way to make things safer for cyclists is for drivers to stick to the speed limit. How about some big 40 signs to remind drivers that they’re not yet on the motorway?



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