Cycling and walking group hits out at council for not bidding for upgrades cash

A cycling and walking group has criticised Rochdale Council for not bidding for funding towards temporary upgrades such as pop-up bike lanes and pedestrian-only zones.

Greater Manchester has put together a combined bid for £21.5m of government cash for infrastructure improvements intended to help people get to work without using public transport while Covid-19 remains a risk.

This includes a 200km network of temporary cycle lanes linking the city region’s boroughs with Manchester city centre.

However, Rochdale chose not to put forward projects for the first ‘tranche’ of this money – which is for temporary schemes only.

It makes Rochdale the ‘odd one out’ in the city region following Manchester City Council’s U-turn after initially taking a similar stance.

The council said they were ‘fully supportive’ of enhanced road safety measures, but the borough did not have the same problems as other places and the cash could be better spent elsewhere.

It has suggested it may put forward schemes for the second tranche of funding, which is earmarked for ‘the creation of longer-term projects’.

And Walk Ride Rochdale – which champions cycling and walking in the borough – has hit out at the council’s approach.

A spokesperson said: “Walk Ride Rochdale is disappointed that Rochdale council doesn’t appear to be taking the impending transport crisis as seriously as other councils are across Greater Manchester and further afield. 

“Both the GM Mayor and national government have made some £26m of emergency funding available in Greater Manchester for emergency measures such as pop-up bike lanes, wider pavements, traffic-calmed streets or lower speed limits. 

“By enabling as many people as possible to walk and cycle safely as we emerge from lockdown, we can crucially also prevent a return to unsustainable levels of congestion and air pollution that risk being even worse than we saw during the pre-crisis period.

“With over 30 per cent of Rochdale households without a car and only four cars for every 10 residents in the borough, thousands of people who don’t drive, don’t own a car or prefer to use public transport – many of whom are essential key workers – are faced with a stark choice: buy a car they can ill afford, squeeze on to a bus or tram with the associated risks of infection, pay over the odds for taxis to and from work, or cycle on increasingly busy roads with no protected space.”

The group says that, despite making multiple enquiries it is still ‘not entirely sure’ what the council’s strategy is for people in the borough for whom the car is not an option.

Adding: “It is essential that Rochdale secures its fair share of the available funding to ensure that all residents, and not just those who have cars, can continue to travel safely as life starts to return to normal.”

Rochdale Council says it rejects any suggestion the authority does not take road safety seriously.

 A spokesman said: “We fully support any measures to improve safety on the highway network and throughout the coronavirus outbreak we have been monitoring traffic levels closely and responding to any local needs as they arise.

“Our highways teams will continue to make regular inspections of our networks but we have not as yet seen some of the issues experienced in other parts of Greater Manchester, and therefore believe the funding for these projects would be better spent elsewhere.”

The council also says that a range of possible measures to enhance to enhance infrastructure and safety are being considered.

Councillor Neil Emmott, cabinet member for environment, said: “We’re looking at a number of different options to increase the provision of cycling and walking across the borough and putting together various options, which we hope to bring forward in the coming weeks.”

 

 

Rochdale Council has also developed two schemes as part of Chris Boardman’s £1.5bn Bee Network, which aims to create 1,800 miles of protected space across Greater Manchester.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/124730/council-making-a-bee-line-for-castleton

These include a £10.7m cycling and walking corridor between Castleton and Rochdale and the Rochdale-Oldham-Manchester link, which goes through Middleton.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter