TAMESIDE residents are being asked how they’d like to improve the streets where they live as part of plans to create a series of new ‘low-traffic neighbourhoods’ across Greater Manchester.
The area north of Dewsnap Lane in Dukinfield is earmarked as the next location to benefit from the scheme with the aim to address ‘rat running’ traffic and encourage more journeys on foot or cycling.
A similar initiative was launched last year in Stalybridge and Ashton on Stamford Drive and Currier Lane.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods, known locally as Active Neighbourhoods, focus on prioritising the movement, health and safety of people over cars by using planters or bollards to stop rat-running on residential streets. These schemes typically create quieter streets for residents to chat and for children to play, as well as making trips to schools and the shops safer.
Residents are being asked to feedback what they like about their area, but also how it could be made better – and whether they would like to stop through traffic using their streets as a short-cut.
The three schemes form part of the Bee Network, a 10-year plan for Greater Manchester to deliver the UK’s largest cycling and walking network, eventually spanning 1,800 miles. The focus is on enabling people to leave the car at home for everyday trips to school or to the shops. This will contribute to the one million additional daily sustainable journeys Greater Manchester wants to achieve by 2040, while also having wider benefits to health, congestion and clean air.
Chris Boardman, Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “Over the last decade traffic levels on main roads has barely risen, but journeys on residential streets have risen by a staggering 45% in Greater Manchester.
“By stopping through traffic but keeping full access to homes for people who need to go there, Active Neighbourhoods prioritise those that call it home. I’d like to encourage local residents in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside who want safe space outside their homes for them and their families, to get involved and tell us how they want their streets to look and feel.”
Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Transport and Connectivity Cllr Warren Bray said: “This is a great opportunity to bring improvements to Dukinfield and create a more scenic, safer, greener and healthier place to live and work.
“I’d encourage residents, the people that know the area best, to get involved and have their say on what changes they’d like to see so that everyone can benefit. Please do this by filling out the quick survey and, if possible, attending the workshops.”
Councils have submitted Active Neighbourhoods proposals as part of the wider cycling and walking programme. There are an additional two neighbourhoods each for Bolton and Stockport, totalling over 20 currently under development across Greater Manchester.
Have your say on Tameside’s Dukinfield scheme and signup for the online event on Thursday 25 March, 6.30-8.30pm.
Sounds like a mad plan without improving the existing routes in and out of dukinfield currently grid locked three or four times a day, plus the addition of extra houses being built on green site’s locally
Really don’t understand whereabouts on Dewsnap Lane you could put planters and think it would help in any way, it would effectively make Dewsnap Lane a one way, very busy road. You’ve got a massive estate (Richmond Park) and the only way out of it is Dewsnap Lane, would this mean every resident leaving the estate could only drive one way out of Dewsnap? I work in Stalybridge, if the top end had them I would have to drive a very long way round, visa versa if they were at the other end. This isn’t a small side street that is used as a cut through, this is a main road.
I live in the area and have had a leaflet through my door asking to take a survey. I just tried typing in the link and receive a message to say the page could not be found. Not the best of starts.
Personally I like where I live as it’s lovely and quiet with lots of space for kids to play safely. There’s not an awful lot of traffic despite the fact the road is on a bus route and I quite like it as it is. I hope the road doesn’t suffer from being ruined by restricting access/placing plant pots in the middle of the road/some other hair brained idea. Slowing traffic down could mean traffic takes longer to pass if there are plant pots cluttering up what is a perfectly good road. If traffic has to stop and give way because of plant pots then vehicles will take longer to pass through.
Sorry I’m not keen on the idea. I appreciate that traffic calming can be useful on heavily congested roads but it’s not like that on the road I live, it’s really not.
Clowns