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news
A56 cycle lane (@jbizzleymcbizzl/Twitter)Council proposes cycle lane bollards after easily removed cones repeatedly targeted by vandals
Trafford Council may finally be about to introduce segregated cycling infrastructure on one of the city's busiest and most talked about routes.
The news comes after multiple instances of vandalism which saw the current bike lane, separated from traffic with cones, being eroded and removed by upset locals, the latest incident seeing the local authority blaming "systematic theft" and warning that the police had been involved.
At the time, Trafford Council told road.cc it would propose to "replace the cones on this section of the highway with an interim cycling scheme", proposals which have since been outlined formally and a consultation opened until September 10.
> Council criticised after resurfacing entire road... except cycle lanes
Under the plans, the existing temporary cycle lanes along the A56 Stretford would be replaced "by cycle lane bollards separating the cycle lane and the main road" from the A56 at Talbot Road to north of the M60 junction seven.
A new "buffer strip between cycle paths through the gyratory island at Barton Road and a new crossing at the traffic lights on the northern side to allow safe crossing for pedestrians and cyclists" is also proposed.
To make room for the infrastructure the A56 southbound at the Davyhulme Road would return to two lanes and there would be new vehicle-loading restrictions introduced, preventing loading or unloading at any time.
The Manchester Evening News reports that police data published in 2019 showed that the A56 saw 67 incidents involving cyclists between 2015 and 2017, making it one of the most dangerous routes in the city.
Conservative councillor Nathan Evans said he could "totally understand" the "frustration" of residents in removing the cones but said the way cyclists are being treated is "totally ridiculous" and called for proper infrastructure.
"I think this is possibly just frustration from residents," he said. "And I totally understand it. I don't condone it. But when the council is totally deaf to appeals from the residents for normal behaviour, I get it. I think there are better ways of doing this.
"There's clearly a problem but the way they are treating cyclists, it's totally ridiculous. Maybe we can't afford [to], but if we are going to do it, let's do it properly."
A petition calling for the cones to be removed received almost 3,000 signatures since the temporary lane was first introduced during the pandemic in 2020. Its installation was not without setbacks either, the council quickly removing it following initial complaints from motorists.
Since then it has returned, been vandalised, been replaced and disappeared completely at some stretches, the council hoping its latest proposal will be a more permanent solution.
On the same weekend Manchester was named the worst city in Europe for green transport the Labour-run council was forced to respond to yet more vandalism, saying it would replace stolen cones "regularly" but the "continual theft and vandalism means we're unable to replace them as quickly as they are removed".
Days later and as local cyclists speculated about if the cones' complete disappearance from the major A-road was in fact the doing of the local authority, the council clarified that it was not them, instead blaming "systematic theft".
"This has been reported to the police and we'll be working with the police going forward on this matter," a council spokesperson said.
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
Latest Comments
- stonojnr 1 hour 22 min ago
but thats the problem its should not, not must not. and drivers will always claim theyre allowed to overtake you.
- Krislord 3 hours 6 min ago
I've been really happy with my Rapha cycling stuff - mainly the cheaper end as core is more than sufficient. The colours recently have been very...
- David9694 3 hours 7 min ago
Frame built by my own fair hand, heavily supervised, at the former Downland Cycles a few years ago. Cobalt blue by Argos. ...
- check12 3 hours 20 min ago
when 3D arione plz
- mattw 3 hours 40 min ago
So - to something like a photog's mini reflector. I do enjoy working out the detail of what will be the best solution.
- john_smith 5 hours 9 min ago
I think the mass of the car can be treated as infinite, in the sense that the velocity of the car is not going to change much at all on impact....
- mattw 5 hours 58 min ago
Signs installed by Devizes Town Council. AFAIK they are not the Local Highways Authority, and have no authority to install such signs.
- jaymack 6 hours 10 min ago
Tom Allen? Please tell me you don't mean the comedian.
- David9694 9 hours 17 min ago
A flame thrower dog robot is something every cyclist needs.
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14 comments
Please council. Make the steel bollards appear as plastic. I want to see some "one on one" sump action.
Ooooohhhh.. why don't you shut the door...
Great idea, here's one someone prepared earlier;
https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/t1z4lq/he_thought_it_was_...
YUUUUMMMEEYYYY!
Brilliant!
Or, have mainly plastic bollards, but put a couple of disguised steel/concrete bollards amongst them.
Has the Council checked the canals for their lost cones?
People complain about them not collecting evidence for cycle lanes.
Then when they try to collect evidence by using temporary infra marked out by cones people sabotage it...
IMHO part of any response to complaints + judicial reviews etc from motorists should be we wanted to do experimental infra for consultation; sabotage made it impossible...
They just need to put up a couple of cameras to monitor the flow of cyclists and also to fully prosecute anyone vandalising the infra.
Depends on the bollards. Bristol put in 'permanent' bollards which are heavy duty plastic and rubber wands about two feet high attached to a base bolted into the road surface, but designed so that they can fold downif necessary so they don't get damaged. They get damaged anyway.
Probably done partly so they don't damage people's vehicles. Should be the opposite IMHO. I'm not sure how it would go in court but it's very tempting to reply to "your bollard damaged my car!" with "yeah, that's what crashing your car into stuff will do to you. Now - about what you owe us since your car damaged our bollard..."
I'm all for saving humans on the roads from injury due to their own hopeless mistakes or lazy assumptions. Those are a well known and predictable attribute of humans and we already account for some of those in our infra. But I don't feel too worried about that where it's just maintaining our massive driving priveledges though.
Bollards are always the answer. I love bollards. Even the word makes me happy
Not as cute or linguistically lush but if good ol' concrete blocks can keep out tanks - and council "cannot find the money" to do it properly - though of course there's always money to chase unicorns (the charitable interpretation...) - then put a Jersey on it.
It would be difficult to filter through those if (when) someone has parked at the entrance or exit of the cycle lane... Unless you're Danny MacAskill.
Correct. If you have no gaps it would block some people crossing the road - including cyclists! That is why you should leave at least wheelchair / double-buggy sized gaps at sensible intervals*.
Cars are bulky, heavy, and can appear with a LOT of kinetic energy (can't expect they'll be going at less than the speed limit...). There are too many about and people are too used to driving and parking anywhere and everywhere physically possible.
We know what the the real "solution" looks like. It's just interesting sometimes to investigate answers - ideally very practical - to the usual "we haven't the money" / "our staff aren't training in installing cycle infra" / "we can't make permanent changes" / "people in cars won't cooperate"...
Councils already have this kind of concrete barrier. AFAIK you can buy more fairly cheaply. They are easy to move** and install without digging.
* In fact likely slightly wider than your "design vehicle" which might be a cargo trike, adapted cycle / sociable etc. If you leave gaps which are too wide (like is often the case with blocks / wands etc.) then cars will just drive between them and park. As with any change it's a can of worms - there will then be concerns about emergency / construction and maintenance access, loading when e.g. moving house etc. That's why proper infra AND culture change is needed...
** Relatively easy to move. If they're too easy to move - like the plastic ones - they're no good as some "helpful" locals will move them!