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Manchester councillor against 'taking out capacity' on major routes – says pop-up cycle lanes are "not a magic bullet"

City of Manchester continues to resist as region attempts to build active travel network

Manchester Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Planning and Transport has spoken out against pop-up cycle lanes, arguing that they are only popular with, “a section of commuter cyclists.” Angeliki Stogia said that if the council were to “take out capacity on major routes” by constructing pop-up lanes, it would result in greater congestion.

With public transport capacity currently severely limited, the Government fears that without large numbers switching to active travel, cities’ roads could grind to a halt.

New guidance for local authorities therefore demands that more space be provided for walking and cycling.

Writing in the foreword to the guidance, dated May 9, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The government … expects local authorities to make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians.

“Such changes will help embed altered behaviours and demonstrate the positive effects of active travel.”

Pop-up cycle lanes are consequently being planned and constructed up and down the country, many with a view to long-term permanence.

While Greater Manchester as a whole has tabled a £21.5m bid for government funding for pop-up cycle lanes on 94km of major roads, the City of Manchester – the borough at the heart of the region – has been more resistant to the idea.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has said that Manchester City Council is working with other districts to join up proposed cycle routes, but as things stand the region faces the prospect of a five-mile hole at the very centre of its cycling infrastructure.

The MEN reports that Stogia sees reallocation of road space as a ‘reduction’ of capacity.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, she said: “Pop-up lanes are popular by and large with a section of commuter cyclists.

“I know people are passionate about them but they don’t do anything for pedestrians or people who aren’t able to use them.”

She continued: “Until confidence in capacity is there so residents can get back into public transport, if we take out capacity on major routes then we will get back to congestion a lot quicker.

“These pop-up lanes are not a magic bullet. We need careful and planned active travel interventions as it's far more complicated than often presented how we help people get around the city.”

Stogia said that closing roads to motor traffic represented the quickest and cheapest way to reallocate road space.

While this is an approach being taken with a couple of streets in the city centre, it is not proposed for any major commuter routes.

Richard Kilpatrick, a member of the scrutiny committee and Lib Dem councillor for Didsbury West, countered: “Short-term pop-up solutions in this situation will be the foundation for success of active travel in the future.”

Stogia expressed surprise that Kilpatrick supported pop-up lanes as his party ‘was never for permanent infrastructure’.

She added: “We should put a whole lot of cones in Chorlton and Wilmslow Road and see how long it lasts.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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13 comments

Avatar
steaders | 3 years ago
1 like

So what if it creates greater congestion, it may well make people think I don't need to use my car when I can use the cycle lanes and then the congestion improves.

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billymansell | 3 years ago
2 likes

At the time of Shapps' original announcements I was highly cynical but some in the cycling press got excited that this gave the govt the authority to 'tell' councils what to do and hold them to account if they didn't produce pop up lanes. I asked them what legal authority does 'telling' a council to do something have but never got an explanation.

What we're now seeing is that the threat to 'tell' a council what to do was no threat and had no legal status at all. Councils can do nothing and return any money they originally requested or put something up then take it down for the most spurious of reasons.

I hate that my cynicism was proved correct. Even in my own town where we've made repeated requests both for pop up lanes and to know what the council are doing but we have seen nothing change despite having received £1.7m from the first tranche of money.

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
2 likes

I'm tempted to suggest she put a bung in her gob, but I have a suspicion someone else may have beaten me to it.....

Is there an obliging Green group who will threaten to sue MCC - who presumably have some of the most polluted air due to all traffic converging on the center?

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Zebulebu | 3 years ago
7 likes

Would that be the same Angeliki Stogia who's on the board of NCP, perchance? 🤔

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brooksby replied to Zebulebu | 3 years ago
1 like

According to google, someone with that name is a director of NATIONAL CAR PARKS MANCHESTER LIMITED, appointed in June 2017.  And in June 2020 Councillor Stogia declared that position as an interest, having been 'appointed or nominated by the council'.

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Secret_squirrel replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes

I believe the official explanation is that she is there to keep NCP honest as they run some of the council owned car parks.  

 

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
11 likes

"..but they don’t do anything for pedestrians or people who aren’t able to use them.”

And neither do massive roads do anything for people who can't or don't drive.

“These pop-up lanes are not a magic bullet."

They literally are.  They reduce congestion, reduce danger, improve air quality, reduce climate change and make the residents wealthier, healthier and slimmer; it doesn't get any more magic councillor.

How does someone quite so utterly misinformed about transport become the exec member for transport?  Unfortunately, she is not alone, and there are plenty of councillors and transport execs who think that transport = cars.

 

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Zermattjohn | 3 years ago
12 likes

'Angeliki Stogia said that if the council were to “take out capacity on major routes” by constructing pop-up lanes, it would result in greater congestion.'

Greater congestion, sure, but only for those people who choose to drive, right? This statement sums up MCC's, and almost every other local authority's view : people in cars are undertaking important journeys, crucial to the economy, and cannot be delayed in any way. Those people on bikes are just out for a fun ride, they aren't 'traffic'.

Until they appreciate that it's moving people, not vehicles, that is important, these types of statements and policies will roll on and on.

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hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
8 likes
Angeliki Stogia wrote:

Until confidence in capacity is there so residents can get back into public transport, if we take out capacity on major routes then we will get back to congestion a lot quicker.

If we're inevitably going back to congestion, then why wait until motorists are unhappy with the volumes of traffic. If we take back some of the road space now, then motorists can more readily adapt due to the current reduced traffic (who knows, maybe one or two will choose active transport instead).

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
6 likes

Given that you could get a whole lot more people down a road on bicycles than in cars, I find Angeliki Stogia's concern about not taking out capacity at odds with her actions.

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brooksby replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

But the only capacity that she's interested in, is to do with big metal boxes on 4+ wheels fitted with an engine.

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brooksby | 3 years ago
7 likes

I suspect that “We need careful and planned active travel interventions as it's far more complicated than often presented how we help people get around the city” translates as "We need more time to be able come up with some good excuses for why we can't do it".

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
4 likes

Maybe we should all just ride in primary everywhere, in all these urban areas whose councillors refuse to see the advantages of pop-up bike lanes?  Let's face it - given how congested they already all are, I don't imagine we can be accused of 'holding up traffic'...  3

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