More than £1m is being spent on new and improved cycle storage at stops across Metrolink’s Bury line.
High quality cycle parking, including covered Sheffield stands with lighting and CCTV in highly visible and accessible locations, will be installed at eight stops as part of the project, making it easier and safer for people to scoot or cycle to and from their local tram stop.
The £1.2m scheme is being funded through the Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF) which is supporting the delivery of cycling, walking and wheeling infrastructure within the Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s vision for an integrated public transport and active travel system.
Around 500 million journeys of less than three miles are made by car in Greater Manchester every year. Providing improved active travel infrastructure in and around public transport will be key to encouraging more people to travel actively for shorter journeys instead of using their cars.
The new cycle storage facilities will be installed at Radcliffe, Besses o’ the’ Barn, Prestwich, Heaton Park, Bowker Vale, Crumpsall, Abraham Moss and Queens Road Metrolink stops.
The stops have been prioritised as they are among the oldest on the Metrolink network. Work has already started at Radcliffe, with all sites expected to be fully upgraded by mid-May 2023
The work will take place during the day with measures in place to reduce noise levels and minimise disturbance, and there will be no impact on Metrolink services.
Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “I know from my own experience how hard it is to plan a journey that includes cycling to the station, when there is nowhere safe to leave your bike.
“Building these cycle parking facilities at local Metrolink stops, where there is currently no suitable provision for leaving a bike, will give an additional choice to local people who don’t live within an easy walk of their local station.
“I hope after completion, they are well used and enable more people to utilise the Bury line of Metrolink.”
