Commuting in Manchester....

[Charlotte Dobson]

Hi everyone,

I started city cycling when I moved to Manchester in September and would love to hear your thoughts for an article I'm writing. I should probably add that I'm a trainee journalist!

I've seen quite a few accidents between cyclists and motorists - buses and lorries in particular and have had a few near misses myself. I was wondering what you thought about road safety for cyclists in Manchester. I have to cycle up Oxford Road every day and share bus lanes with some pretty inconsiderate bus drivers but I'm never sure whether the drivers are to blame or the lack of cycle lanes. What do you guys think?
For example
- Do you think the roads in Manchester are suitable for cyclists and motorists?
- Do you think Manchester City Council does enough to enccourage people to cycle?
- Do we need more cycle lanes?
- Are accidents just part of the risk of city cycling or could more be done to prevent tragic accidents?
- Have you had any accidents or near misses?

Let me know what you think,

Best,

Charlotte​

 

[daSmirnov]

Not in Manchester but here's my thoughts on non-Manchester stuff.

More cycle lanes? No. I don't want any more poorly designed cycle lanes that are more dangerous than keeping in the general flow of traffic. If they could provide proper wide, clean, safe cycle lanes that go where cyclists need to go, and aren't considerably slower than using the road, maybe.

If everyone is on the ball, there shouldn't be any accidents. A few things to make things safer: All road users need to show respect other road users, and they need to face consequences for anti-social riding/driving. Essentially the roads need to be more effectively policed. If a driver faced an automatic £60 fine for overtaking too close, they might think twice about squeezing though when there isn't enough room, and maybe forced to attend a re-training course after doing it twice. Etc. Same for cyclists jumping on and off pavements going through red lights and filtering down the inside of large vehicles.

Silly Cyclists should also be compulsory viewing for cyclists.

My other half also commutes by bike, and she is often livid at the attitude she gets from car drivers just cycling a mile home, she has to make a right-turn on a fairly busy main road. She can indicate to turn right before the junction so she can get across the lane, and cars just hit the accelerator to get past, because they don't want to give her the 10 seconds she needs to carry out the turn safely. That sort of anti-social driving should be cracked down upon, because its that sort of thing that will put people off cycling, far more than not having a crappy cycle lane.

Certainly most of my near-misses are probably down to car drivers not giving me space, nor the respect that I deserve. As many of them believe I shouldn't be on the road, which is probably the route cause of a lot of collisions between motorists and cyclists.

 

[400bhp]

Where will the article be published?

 

[Schneil]

Oxford Road isn't too bad by the university.
Wilmslow Road through Rusholme is scary after 6:30pm.
The A6 through Longsight&Levenshulme is bad at any time

 

[fossyant]

Oxford Road isn't too bad by the university.
Wilmslow Road through Rusholme is scary after 6:30pm.
The A6 through Longsight&Levenshulme is bad at any time

I come in via the A34 from Parrs Wood, or take Parrs Wood Road.

Hate Oxford Road - busses/students !

Wilmslow Road - avoid in the evenings - I don't ride it full stop.

A6 is lethal too near Longsight/Levenshulme - had a nasty hit and run which left me flying through the air at 25 mph and a broken hand !

 

[Schneil]

http://www.cycleclaims.co.uk/cycle-accident-advice/cycle-accident-advice-in-manchester
http://menmedia.co.uk/southmanchesterreporter/news/s/1072917_cyclists_in_peril_on_danger_routes

http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/mapping/cyclemaps/downloads/Cycling_in_South_Manchester.pdf

So combining the two sources of information, there's no safe lit route into/out of Manchester for cyclists.
I commute in the morning along Stockport Road through Longsight and Levy. The downhill and heavy traffic work to my advantage. However I avoid this road like the plague in the evenings as I feel I take my life into my hands.

For the return journey I take Oxford Road as far as Hathersage Road and then go down the A34. There's a bus lane between Hathersage Road and the double roundabout at Fallowfield, which is quite safe. However Kingsway can be nasty. It's a 2 lane 40mph road. The inside lane is very wide, so a car could overtake you with plenty of space, but there's always some that don't and close overtake you.

Why to avoid Wilmslow Road in the evenings:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N1y26ws0Jk


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH1HDRrFTO4


close overtakes on Kingsway

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjtxBvdvJBU

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Hi everyone,​

I started city cycling when I moved to Manchester in September and would love to hear your thoughts for an article I'm writing. I should probably add that I'm a trainee journalist!​

I've seen quite a few accidents between cyclists and motorists - buses and lorries in particular and have had a few near misses myself. I was wondering what you thought about road safety for cyclists in Manchester. I have to cycle up Oxford Road every day and share bus lanes with some pretty inconsiderate bus drivers but I'm never sure whether the drivers are to blame or the lack of cycle lanes. What do you guys think?​

For example​

- Do you think the roads in Manchester are suitable for cyclists and motorists?​

- Do you think Manchester City Council does enough to enccourage people to cycle?​

- Do we need more cycle lanes?​

- Are accidents just part of the risk of city cycling or could more be done to prevent tragic accidents?​

- Have you had any accidents or near misses?​

Let me know what you think,​

Best,​

Charlotte​

I cycle Oxford Road to/from work daily.
I find the busses are usually OK, actually; have had one or two incidents where an inconsiderate driver cuts in in front into a bus stop but other than that largely fine.
I recently got knocked off by a white van man in Rusholme on Wilmslow Road (in the morning in daylight with no rain), first incident, he turned across the cycle lane I was in without indicating or, indeed, checking if there was any cyclist currently occupying the patch of road he was about to move into. Driver error here, indeed a cycle lane was provided. Although, had there been no cycle lane; there would probably have been no accident either....
Cycle lanes are either a blessing or a curse depending on whether they are done well or not. Oxford Road I quite enjoy as you have the bus lane to yourself (aside from other cyclists, busses and taxis) which far beats being in the car lanes. However, some cycle lanes are not well maintained at all or involve silly diversions; or end suddenly with no warning. If you want an example of a useless waste of paint, have a look at Parrs Wood Road which has an unenforceable cycle lane (cars are legally allowed to park in it at all times) which means it's a curse rather than a help as cyclists have to nip in and out of the main traffic flow, which is IMHO worse than being in the main flow the whole time.

In my 4-ish years of cycling in Manchester I'm sure there are now more commuting cyclists. Especially students, but they all congregate at certain times of the day.

If you are interested in resesarch on what could be an improvement see if you can dig out the suggested transport improvements to Oxford Road, I think they might be on ice at the moment due to funding cuts. It included pedestrianising parts of the road (IIRC, with bus and cycle access but no private cars, but my memory might be escaping me).

OOH, forgot my pet hates: the taxis who think they can park right outside Fallowfield Sainsbury's completely blocking the bike lane right before the bus stop and severely compromising safety for all road users as a result; and the school run chaos that ensues at Manchester Girls with people too lazy to park properly who instead must stop on the double yellows in the bus lane to let their darlings out. If you can sort inconsiderate driving you'd go a far way to making cycling safer.

 

[fossyant]

I must say I don't use Oxford Road/Wilmslow Road as making 'fast' progress is a no-no on a bike, hence the blast down the A34 for me.

 

[ColinJ]

Where will the article be published?

I was wondering that too!

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Where will the article be published?

I'm guessing it will be here. ("Mancunian Matters".)

 

[Bigsharn]

From someone who has cycled in Manchester once (and incredibly unsuccessfully) the roads seem fine. There are a lot of "Left/straight on" turn only places, where you could easily put a bicycle on a toucan crossing to turn right (I mean to join a flow of traffic, not no entry roads, just to clarify.) as an example, Whitworth Street turning onto Oxford Street

The cycle lanes I've seen are too thin to use at a decent speed (~10mph on a buggered folding bike justifies their use though), but the roads are of a decent width, and the bus lanes tend to attract folks that shouldn't be there.

 

[Msmancunia]

I cycle down Broadway from Chadderton, and then down Oldham Rd, through town, and then to Salford Quays. Most of it is fine - there's a wide off road cycle path for a bit down Broadway (although you've also got to contend with the M60 junction), and Oldham Rd isn't too bad because it's not got too many buses. The junction down by the side of the Hilton is a bitch though - it's got a very narrow faded bike lane that drivers just ignore, as well as a bike box at the front, that they also fail to notice. Crossing the junction to get down Liverpool Road is probably the most scary part of my route. Would like to have a moan about Northern Rail though - they "say" they take two bikes per train but have you ever tried getting a bike on a train at any stop between Rochdale and Manchester during the morning rush hour? I prefer to cycle in all the way during the morning, but on those "Friday Legs" days, when I could cycle to the station, get the train to Victoria and then cycle to SQ, I've got absolutely no chance. Sometimes I can't even get on when I've not got a bike....

 

[dave2041]

My route is fine, NOTHING compared to what i see above (wilmslow road etc) That looks absolutely aweful. My commute is from moses gate to guide bridge so i take A575 - A580 - A6 - A6042 - A6010 - A635.

No real complaints about traffic, the hills are more a problem for me, and i find that if i give cars plenty of time when i need to get across lanes (some three lanes sometimes) then usually someone will let me in

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Crossing the junction to get down Liverpool Road is probably the most scary part of my route.

That junction is terrible no matter what you're in/on - if it's the one I'm thinking of it should really be a set of 3 way lights - Deansgate both ways, then Liverpool Road, then the road that goes past the Hilton. For people that don't know the area it's not clear at all which way 'straight' is and who has right of way.

 

[Loop]

Judging by the video, that Wilmslow Road cycle lane just looks plain hazardous. There doesn't seem to be enough room to cycle a safe distance from the cars parked up to the left of the lane. Where do you go if a car door suddenly swings open?