Manchester to Chorlton cycleway

The Manchester to Chorlton Walking and Cycleway scheme is part of Manchester City Council's commitment to make transport across the city healthier and cleaner. It will form part of the Bee Network - More than 1,800 miles of routes with 400 miles of Dutch-style segregated bike lanes, the UK’s largest joined-up network for walkers and cyclists. The routes will connect every community in Greater Manchester and make cycling and walking an easy alternative to car travel. We’re improving our connections across the city to support long-term sustainable economic growth and access to opportunity for all; the work also ties in with the Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy.

• Area 3a will run from the junction of Upper Chorlton Road/ Seymour Grove to the Metrolink bridge.

• Area 3b covers work from the Metrolink bridge to Wilbraham Road and down to Sandy Lane.

Area 3a: Junction of Upper Chorlton Road and Seymour Grove to the Metrolink bridge

This phase, which runs from the junction of Upper Chorlton Road/ Seymour Grove to the Metrolink bridge, will involve:

• new CYCLOPS junction at the Upper Chorlton Road and Seymour Grove intersection
• full cyclist segregation on both sides of the road that bypass bus stops and parking bays
• the main road will be narrowed at junctions with side roads
• raised tables will be included to slow traffic, reduce crossing distance and make it easier to cross on foot
• mixed wildflower planting featuring environmentally friendly drainage will improve the look and feel of the area.

Area 3b: Manchester Road from Clarendon Road West to Sandy Lane

Work to install this last major section of the cycleway is ongoing, and is now estimated to be completed in Winter 2023. This revised date is due to the discovery and subsequent repair of a void at the four banks junction, drainage issues and several gas leaks.

Features of this section include:

• ‘Cycle Optimised Protected Signal’ (CYCLOPS) junctions, which fully segregate traffic, cyclists and pedestrians, will be installed at the following locations:
• Manchester Road / Barlow Moor Road / Wilbraham Road (Four Banks) - estimated completion October 2023
• Barlow Moor Road / High Lane / Sandy Lane - estimated completion December 2023
• Right-turn bans from Barlow Moor Rd (S) to Wilbraham Rd (E), Wilbraham Rd (E) to Barlow Moor Rd (N) and, Wilbraham Rd (W) to Barlow Moor Rd (S) (Four Banks) to allow smoother flow of traffic.
• Right-turn ban from Barlow Moor Rd to Sandy Lane, and Left Turn Ban from Sandy Lane into Barlow Moor Rd, again to avoid congestion and delays.
• A segregated cycle lane along the length of the route which bypasses bus stops and parking/ loading bays where possible.
• Narrowing of the road at junctions with side roads, by building out the footway, along with raised tables to slow traffic.
• Sustainable urban drainage (rain gardens) to improve the street scene, whilst improving the drainage and helping to prevent flooding.
• Upgrading the crossing near Ransfield Road to a Toucan crossing, which allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same time.
• A new ‘puffin’ crossing on Manchester Road near Warwick Road (puffin crossings differ from pelican crossings in that they do not have a flashing green man/flashing amber signal - the overall crossing time is established each time by on-crossing pedestrian detectors.

With work now taking place at the junction of Barlow Moor Road and Sandy Lane, delays and congestion are affecting services serving Chorlton bus station.

Services 23, 25, 85, 85A, 86 and 150 are affected.

An increase in traffic using Barlow Moor Road on Manchester United matchdays means that these delays are significantly more in the hours before and after a match.