New data ranking global cities and towns for how amenable they are to cycling has revealed that while the City of Manchester leads in the region, Greater Manchester as a whole trails London.
According to the ratings, the City of Manchester has a rating of 64 out of 100, followed by Wigan (58) and Salford (54). However, despite the City of Manchester scoring well locally, it lags far behind London as a region, with an average rating of just 49 compared to London’s average of 69.
The lack of safe cycling infrastructure and progress is reflected in the lower average rating for the region. The worst boroughs in the region for cycling are Bury, which has a rating of 39, followed by Bolton (43) and Rochdale (45).
This is in spite of the work done by Mayor Andy Burnham, who initiated the Bee Network, an integrated approach to transport that includes measures to expand and improve cycling infrastructure. Whilst some progress has been made, there is a lot more to do. He has also faced criticism for rejecting a Clean Air Zone, which could have positively impacted the level of traffic on roads.
Jenn Dice, PeopleForBikes President and CEO, said:
“We’re proud to release our City Ratings data once again. This program not only provides scores and rankings but also offers tangible insights into how towns and cities globally can create safer, more connected places for people to ride.
‘’While the City of Manchester has seen improvements in recent years when it comes to cycling infrastructure (evident in its positive rating of 64), the region still has work to do to match Londons’ progress.
‘’We’re hoping that the data is valuable for local authorities, campaigners, and everyone who wants to see more and better bike infrastructure.’’
Harry Gray, Walk Ride Greater Manchester said:
“We are pleased that continued investment of active travel in Greater Manchester is putting Manchester, Wigan and Salford higher up the City Ratings table closer to London style infrastructure. However, we are concerned that parts of Greater Manchester like Bury, Bolton and Rochdale are being left behind. We believe that equality of investment in working class communities is vital to enable every person in society to experience the benefits of active travel.
‘’To catch up with London we need a London style investment plan in active travel from Andy Burnham as part of the incoming Trailblazer Deal.”
