Bike diversion route will send cyclists into “crowds of kids and parents” on “mud path” outside school, as councillor claims funding for new safe cycle lane has “disappeared”

A proposed diversion for route for cyclists, which could be put in place from March due to works on a nearby roundabout, has been branded a “mud path” that will force people on bikes into “crowds of kids and parents” outside a school, a local councillor has claimed.

The councillor has also claimed that funding to create a new cycling and walking route in Stockport, which could have been used as part of the diversion, has “disappeared”, despite the local authority pledging to build the upgraded infrastructure five years ago.

Proposals for an improved cycling route linking Edgeley to Stockport town centre have been in the pipeline since 2019, and were unveiled in 2021 as part of Greater Manchester’s then-cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman’s plans to create a region-wide active travel network.

However, three years later, a section of the route in front of Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School in Edgeley has not yet started.

That lack of progress has now sparked safety fears, after the route – which sits between the school and a block of flats – was proposed as a possible diversion for cyclists, to be put in place when Stockport’s Armoury roundabout closes for 12 months in March while work is underway to replace Greek Street bridge.

Armoury roundabout and Greek Street bridge, Stockport (Network Rail)

The existing structure at Greek Street, which runs over the West Coast mainline and is made of about 200 concrete beams, will be demolished along with the road above it, then rebuilt, with the new bridge set to provide, Network Rail, says, “safer and more reliable” travel for train services for years to come.

However, according to local councillor Matt Wynne, the diverted cycle route set to be put in place during the works is essentially a “mud path”, and that any diversion will send an increased number of cyclists into “crowds of parents and kids” outside the school during drop off and pick up times.

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Speaking to Stockport Hub, Wynne urged Stockport Council and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to fund the cycle route work as promised, and install the infrastructure before Greek Street bridge is removed.

“We’ve got the Armoury roundabout bridge coming out for 12 months from March, and this route that they were meant to upgrade is going to form the primary diversionary route between Edgeley and the town centre,” the councillor said.

“We were told the cycle route was going to be fully funded before the bridge came out, then we were told it would be part funded, now we’re being told that there’s no money for it.

“Edgeley residents completely understand that this bridge has got to come out, but it feels like we’re getting short changed.”

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In response to Wynne’s complaints, Stockport Council said that the diversion routes are still being considered, clarifying that nothing is yet confirmed.

Nevertheless, Stockport’s transport lead, Grace Baynham, said the local authority is trying to find funding for the Edgeley cycling route before the end of the financial year.

“The council has already secured close to £1m of government-backed City Region Sustainable Transport funds to deliver an improved highway scheme on the roundabout following the completion of the Network Rail-led Greek Street bridge renewal works,” she said.

“Following this good news, we have been working closely with partners at TfGM in response to the recent council motion to quickly progress the wider active travel scheme around the Greek Street works.

“Officers are working hard to unlock further funding for the whole of the wider scheme before the end of the financial year.”

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While Baynham’s comments appear promising to cyclists eagerly anticipating the long-awaited active travel project, this isn’t the first time Stockport Council have been criticised this year for failing to find the funds to provide safe infrastructure for cyclists.

In August, plans to redevelop the busy A6 in Stockport were criticised by councillors for including what they described as “nasty and unsafe” proposals to remove the road’s painted cycle lanes and force cyclists to use backstreets “overrun” with HGVs.

One Green Party representative even called for the plans to be referred to Active Travel England for review, after fellow councillors argued that the so-called “compromise” scheme in fact means that “the losses are all for cyclists”.

However, Stockport Council, who worked with TfGM to put forward the proposals to build new bus lanes on Wellington Road North, a major road linking the town with Manchester’s boundary, claimed that constructing new protected cycle lanes on the A6 would make the cost of the £15 million scheme “colossal”, while also arguing that there is “insufficient space”.

Along with the new bus lanes and the introduction of 20mph speed limits on some residential streets, the proposed scheme includes cycle routes on side streets to the east and west of the main road with crossing options, but will not provide any cycling infrastructure on the A6 itself.

This omission prompted one Green councillor Gary Lawson to point out that the painted cycle lanes that currently exist on Wellington Road North will also be removed as part of the project.

“I find it a very disappointing scheme,” Lawson said. “It’s referred to as a compromise scheme, but in a compromise everybody gives a little. Motorists are not losing out in any way here, buses are benefiting, the compromise is the losses are all for cyclists.

“We have a cycle lane at the moment along the A6 but that will go as I understand it, and cyclists will be sent here, there, and everywhere. Most cyclists want the most direct route and the safest route, and that would be a segregated cycle route along the A6.”