Greater Manchester is rolling out an 1800 mile network of protected cycling and walking routes.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has announced the publication of a report that makes a case for national government backing to deliver the region’s cycling and walking plans. “If they help us change our city-region, we can help change the country, too,” said Burnham.
Change a Region to Change a Nation will be delivered to Prime Minister Boris Johnson next month. It argues that Greater Manchester’s £1.5 billion “active travel” Bee Network could be the national blueprint for getting people out of cars, improving health, boosting economic growth, and delivering cleaner air.
“Now we have a world-class plan, and we know how to deliver it, but we cannot do it alone,” said Burnham.
“We need the Government to back us with sustained funding over the next ten years to enable us to complete the Bee Network. If they do so, they will be helping create a model that can be replicated across the rest of the country.
“Put simply, if they help us change our city-region, we can help change the country, too.”
With input from the public, Greater Manchester’s ten districts have been working on the Bee Network plans since 2017 with the provision of 1,800 miles of protected space for cycling and walking throughout the region.
At the launch of an “Active Neighborhood” plan in Urmston on January 23, more than 500 residents turned up to hear from Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman. Stressing that it was up to residents to make a case for people-friendly streets, he argued: “you change Urmston, and you could change the country.”
The packed-to-the-rafters launch of Urmston’s Active Neighborbood scheme.
Boardman, an Olympic cycling champion, told the packed meeting that changing how people traveled wasn’t about catering to “Lycra-clad cyclists” it was for everybody: “With one in three car journeys in Greater Manchester being less than 1 kilometer, it’s clear we have to change,” he said.
“To revolutionize travel across a whole city region, we’re asking for the same financial backing over a ten-year period as it’s costing for a single [motorway] junction improvement scheme in Bedford,” added Boardman.
“I know which will return the best investment—not only for our city-region but for the nation as a whole.”
Over the next ten years, it is predicted that the Bee Network will help deliver a 350% increase in daily cycling trips from 100,000 to 450,000 and a rise in daily walking trips by a third from 1,480,000 to 2,050,000.
Other expected benefits include up to 130,000 fewer daily private car and taxi trips, a 10% reduction in motor traffic, an improvement in some journey times by up to 50% and an estimated £6.73 billion health boost.
Change a Region to Change a Nation was jointly commissioned by Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Mayor’s office.
