Regional Centre Transport Strategy 1st consultation

In December 07 / January 08 a consultation on the Regional Centre Transport Strategy was carried out.

The proposals in this document were reliant on the monies from the Transport Innovation Fund bid. This bid was voted against in the referendum in December 2008.

There is currently a review being undertaken and a second round of consultation is earmarked for the Summer 09. Below is what I wrote at the time of the initial consultation. You need to bare in mind that the funding available is not what was originally envisaged when this was written.

Having said that it is still worth a read, the ideas / aims contained within are laudable. It will be interesting to see what the next round offers!

Originally written February 2008:

The recent Regional Centre Transport Strategy consultation contains some very interesting and exciting proposals for the city centre.

A vast area bounded by Portland Street, Oxford Street / Peter Street, Deansgate, Piccadilly, Market Street, High Street, Shudehill / Withy Grove, Corporation Street and Exchange Square has been earmarked as pedestrian priority zone.

Through traffic will be discouraged from the centre by changes to the road layout and one way system with the inner relief road being improved to meet the task it was meant to; allow traffic to access the other side without going through the centre.

There are plans for safe cycle routes across the relief road into, and then across the city centre, as well as more public open spaces. A suggestion to have a cycle hire scheme is the city centre has also been mooted.

Perhaps the biggest change touted will be around the buses.

Two new interchanges are being suggested to provide nearside termination and reduce the number of buses penetrating into the city centre.

One at Salford Central which is planned to accommodate services coming into the city centre from Chapel Street, Blackfriars Road, Regent Road and Chester Road.

Another at Chorlton Street to accommodate services from Hyde Road, Stockport Road, Ashton Old Road, the Higher Education Precinct corridors (Oxford Road, Upper Brook Street) and Princess Road. (with the coach station being moved to the Mayfield goods depot off Fairfield Street)

The existing Shudehill Interchange will be the focus for services from Chapel Street, Great Ducie Street, Cheetham Hill Road, Rochdale Road and Pollard street.

Another proposal is the re-introduction of Cross City services providing connectivity across the centre.

The proposed cross city routes are:
Stockport Interchange to Pendleton and Stockport to Swinton;
Parrs Wood to Eccles and Parrs Wood to Prestwich;
Middleton to Chorlton; and
Ashton to Stretford.

These cross city services will continue to serve Piccadilly (which will be re-modelled)

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by this document, it touches upon a lot of the issues I have heard raised via the Transport Pool.

The success of the TIF bid will play a large part in determining how soon we see any of the improvements mentioned.

Download a copy of the consultation document here: Here