Sustrans will be doing essential maintenance work on the Liverpool Loop Line on the path to the rear of Ealing Road, Liverpool. Works to begin 22nd January 2018 for up to 4 weeks.
The path between Greenwich Road and Helsby Road will be closed. The diversion route is shown as an orange dash line on the plan.
Dear New Members
If you joined the campaign recently (since about June 2017) and have NEVER received any emails from us (via mailchimp or otherwise), please get in touch by email to merseysidecyclcingcampaign@hotmail.co.uk. We are having a problem with the online registration form which has been compromised. Don’t worry, your email address is safe, and not stored online. The problem was that it was attempted to display spam on our website by using the online form, which we for now have disabled.
Thank you for your patience,
The MCC web team.
After consultation with the engineers of the plan, the following responses have been received from them. This is still not going to be a usable cycle route.
Why is there not a direct route from Irvine Street through the village development to Minshull Street?
The direct pedestrian route from Irvine Street to Minshull Street has a steep gradient that is unsuitable for a cycle route. There will be a pedestrian route running through the village that cyclists may dismount and use, however this will include steps going down from Irvine Street to Minshull Street to enable the provision of a suitable pedestrian gradient.
The plan doesn’t provide enough detail and is inadequate for consultation purposes. Need more details such as cycle lane dimensions.
The width of the segregated cycle lane is 3m throughout, allowing 1.5m for each direction. The pedestrian footway will have a 2m width throughout.
Concerns raised regarding the access points into Paddington Village from Minshull Street & Irvine Street. Respondents are concerned that pedestrians and cyclists will face difficulty in using the crossing points safely and believe that the route should be continuous throughout.
Once the Paddington Village development is complete the access points on Minshull Street and Irvine Street aren’t anticipated to receive a high volume of traffic. For safety reasons, the access into the undercroft area (on Minshull Street) needs to be given vehicle priority over pedestrians and cyclists, to eliminate the likelihood of rear end shunts by vehicles entering Minshull Street from Mt Vernon Road. It is accepted that asking cyclists to “give-way” at this point will add slightly to cycling journey times to/from the City Centre. But it is also recognised that the vehicles using the undercroft access from Minshull Street will have arrived via highways of a significant nature (Low Hill, Mt Vernon Road are both wide carriageway forming part of the main vehicle route into and out of the city centre from the east) and will not be expecting to “give way” from Grove Street. This is a safety concern which we felt needed to be recognised in the design if the cycleway. The access on Irvine Street will become a site access during construction works, and will initially be constructed as a carriageway. This could be subject to further review when more is known about the intended use of the adjacent development plot. In the meantime, it has been determined that uncontrolled crossings will be safer for both pedestrians and cyclists to use.
A cycle group requested that the cycle route should have priority over turning traffic at the access points into Paddington Village from Minshull Street & Irvine Street, with road humps used to slow traffic and alert them to their requirement to give way.
The previous answer is relevant to this query. Very low volumes of traffic are anticipated from Irvine Street – at present there are only 4 blue badge bays and servicing access via this proposed access point. The future form of this access point could be amended, subject to the intended use of the adjacent development plot. The access from Grove Street will serve an undercroft and be used by servicing vehicles. Because this access is very close to the turning lane from Mt Vernon Road into Grove Street, we feel it is necessary to give motorised vehicles accessing the undercroft priority over pedestrians and cyclists (for safety reasons we cannot have vehicles waiting in this location on Grove Street).
The plan seems to create conflict points between pedestrians and cyclists where people will be standing in the cycle lane waiting to cross the road
It is standard design practice for segregated cycle lanes to be positioned nearest the carriageway and pedestrians at the back of footway. Should pedestrians be waiting at pedestrian crossing points, cyclists can utilise the shared area to bypass them, and this is also a commonly used feature.
Where will the proposed cycle route tie in with existing facilities?
The facilities will tie-in with the on-road signed cycle route on Irvine Street (via Mason Street, to the east of Paddington Village). The cycle lane will end at Smithdown Lane traffic signal controlled junction, where cyclists will be able to re-join the carriageway. This junction will be improved to include an “early green” stage for cyclists moving between Smithdown Lane and Brownlow Hill. Plans for Brownlow Hill including provision for cyclists are part of the City Centre Connectivity proposals (see www.liverpool.gov.uk/betterroads)
Are the proposals using existing footways or is part of the road being taken? Why is there no NOI for the footpath that has already been removed on Minshull Street?
The existing footway closures are subject to Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders and are required during the main Paddington construction works. The new shared used areas, segregated cycle lanes and footways will be created from the existing footway and verge – overall no carriageway or footway will be lost.
The existing cycle route connecting Albert Grove to Mason street should be improved.
The new cycle route will provide access directly into the Paddington Central development area at various key points along its route – improving cycle access to the new development site is a fundamental aspect of the proposals. There are no plans to amend the existing cycle route at present but this could be looked at in a future phase of the works (Paddington South). Part of the City Council’s allocation of the Local Growth Fund Sustainable Transport Enhancement Programme is currently looking at improving this route.
Introduce a cycle lane within the carriageway on Mount Vernon Road.
An off carriageway cycle facility is safer for cyclists. Due to the nature of Mount Vernon Road less experienced cyclists would likely be put off using an on-street carriageway facility. Mount Vernon Road forms part of the designated freight route into and out of the City Centre and is a key element in the Wavertree Road/Picton Road bus corridor which carries significant bus flows. This particular section of highway is also subject to significant “weaving” manoeuvres by motorists selecting their destination on the approach to the city centre at the junction of Mt Vernon Road / Grove Street / West Derby Street. The opportunity to provide a 3m wide, fully segregated, off-carriageway cycleway is therefore considered the safest and more appropriate option to capture the needs of all cyclists, as opposed to providing an on-carriageway cycle lane.
How will the cycle lane and footway be segregated?
The segregation between pedestrians and the cycle lane will be achieved with the introduction of a raised rib edging kerb built into the footway. This will be raised by 20mm to alert blind or partially sighted pedestrians to the presence of the cycle track. The cycleway will be finished with a bituminous surfacing, (black) whilst the edging kerb and footway will be paved with high quality concrete paving units (light grey in colour). The contrast in colour between cycleway and footway will be significant, and obvious.
The route should be a continuous shared use area for pedestrians and cyclists
Unsegregated shared use areas are proposed only where necessary to avoid mixing vulnerable people such as the blind or partially sighted with cyclists. The route will be segregated as much as possible
Thousands of people use the footway during term time, cyclists will be forced to use Mount Vernon Road at busy periods.
There will be alternative routes through the centre of the Paddington Village development which pedestrians are more likely to use as more direct. These will ease the pressure on the footway and allow for a safer route for cyclists. The cycle route will be fully segregated over as much of the route as possible.
Merseyside Cycling Campaign has discussed the Paddington Village plan that has been circulated.
Our main concern is that the plan circulated does not give enough information for us to make any meaningful comments and is inadequate for consultation purposes.
We need to see a lot more detail about access to the Paddington Village site and be advised of dimensions of the cycle path, traffic lights etc.
On the limited plan that was circulated, we can see is that there are access roads cutting across the cycling and pedestrian paths from Minshull Street and Irving Street. Pedestrians and cyclists are to somehow fend for themselves crossing in the path of delivery lorries. This is entirely inadequate, there needs to be a continuous prioritised and raised cycle and pedestrian route at these points.
The plan also seems to have created conflict points between pedestrians and cyclists where people will be standing in the cycle lane waiting to cross the road. This is bad design.
Merseyside has the worst statistics for pedestrian and cyclist casualties in the country, these vulnerable road users need protecting. This plan does not, as claimed, “provide a safe route for cyclists”.
Comments by 22 January to Shaun.Ali@amey.co.uk
Safe streets for all. The stuggle for safe streets is a fight for democracy. http://www.wacm.org.uk
Tracking Road Casualties of vulnerable road users in Merseyside, data sourced from https://data.gov.uk/dataset/road-accidents-safety-data …Queries ask @mdunschen
Wednesday 3rd January 2018 – 6pm
A meeting to agree actions/targets/objectives for 2018. The Action Plan should build on MCC’s vision statement. The venue is DoES Liverpool, which is on Hanover Street and only a short walk from Liverpool Central railway station. DoES Liverpool, Gostins Bldg, 4th Floor, Hanover St, Liverpool L1 4LN
The Action Plan development table is downloadable below. The way it works is to use each of the objectives as prompts to see what actions we can take (in the column ‘Possible Approach’) as well as looking at what evidence and relevant documents there are.
MCC Action Plan Development Table Landscape A3 with Communications Strategy Column added
MCC Action Plan Development Table Landscape A4 with Communications Strategy Column added
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Merseyside Cycling Campaign January Meeting
Monday 15th January – 6pm
Baltic Fleet, 33A Wapping, Liverpool L1 8DQ
A public consultation on the proposed transformation of 125 acres of former docklands in Liverpool has begun.
The event is inviting feedback on the draft masterplan which includes establishing a creativity district in the Ten Streets area of north Liverpool.
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet have approved the draft Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF) and the public consultation will be at the Titanic Hotel in Stanley Dock, which lies within the city’s World Heritage Site.
There will also be a series of public roadshow events to be held across the city at FACT on Tuesday 24, October from 12pm to 6pm and RIBA, Mann Island on Monday, 6 November from 12pm to 6pm.
The draft Ten Streets SRF will also be available online to view on the Ten Streets website with feedback forms available to collate comments. The deadline for responses will be Tuesday, 21 November.
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Ten Streets has phenomenal potential to transform North Liverpool and the city’s future economy. This new framework document will no doubt be of huge interest to everyone who wants to see the transformation of this part of north Liverpool and the public consultation will be critical to shaping its direction.”
The proposed creativity district lies within the poorest ward in the UK – Kirkdale – has the potential for up to 1 million square foot of development and the council is keen to attract creative companies and enterprises to flourish alongside artistic organisations.
As a predominantly creative and employment district, the proposals for Ten Streets is designed to complement other emerging employment areas like the Knowledge Quarter and Liverpool Waters.
The Autumn/Winter 2017 issue of Pedal Press is now available to download
The AGM will be held at the KIND Centre, 19 Back Canning Street, Liverpool, L8 7PB
on Saturday 25 November
Refreshments available from 10:00 for 10:30 start
Stephen Yip who has been the force behind Kids In Need & Distress since 1975 has once again invited the Campaign to hold its Annual General Meeting at the Centre.
Why not visit the website and see what they have been up to this year at http://kind.org.uk/
If you wish to bring along a Christmas present for a boy/girl 10/12 yr old Stephen will be most appreciative as will indeed the recipients!
“A new segregated off-road cycle lane / improved footpath will be provided along the east side of the A41 – Chester Street, improving safety and the connectivity of the Wirral Circular Trail Route. To the north, via existing on and off-road sections of the Wirral Circular Trail, cyclists will be able to connect to the Priory Trading Estate and, via the promenade, onwards to Morpeth Wharf, Wirral Waters Tower Road development and the John Moores Lairdside Training Centre and new Maritime Hub at Tower Wharf. To the south, cyclists will be directed to the Turbine Business Park, the Business Park and employment along the Rock Ferry trading estates, including the John Moores University Maritime education and training facility.
The existing Puffin crossing directly adjacent to the Rock Park McDonalds Restaurant will also be upgraded to a new cycle friendly Toucan crossing that will serve and connect directly into this new link.
By offering a high quality alternative to using the busy main A41 carriageway, Mersey Tunnel approach / exit roads and a long section of road tunnel, all of which are particularly unattractive to cyclists; this new facility is expected to greatly improve safety, usage and connectivity. Evidence shows that attractive walking and cycling routes can also increase the attractiveness of the Business and Retail Parks and other trading estates to inward investing businesses.”
Any objections (together with the grounds on which they are made) or expressions of support, may be made on-line by Monday 25th September 2017 at www.wirral.gov.uk/highways (“Submit comments, questions or objections about new highway schemes in Wirral”) quoting the scheme reference number DC-STEP-1718-1
A41 – Cammell Laird Consultation Plan A0 (Signs) STEP Schemes Consultation Information
There are wide ranging plans to improve traffic flow across the city centre whilst also providing better cycle links and a more appealing environment for pedestrians. These proposals are known collectively as the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity scheme.
Download full details and the plans here – Liverpool-City-Centre-Connectivity-plans
Please send any comments to us by 2 August 2017 – Merseysidecyclingcampaign@hotmail.co.uk
The Strand
To make the waterfront more accessible for pedestrians it is proposed to reduce the number of traffic lanes along the Strand, Goree, Georges Dock Gates, New Quay, King Edward Street, Strand Street, Wapping & Chaloner Street to two lanes in each direction. This reduction will help remove the barrier posed to pedestrians, currently faced with crossing up to eight lanes of traffic in places. At junctions along the route the carriageway will have additional lanes to accommodate turning movements for traffic without causing congestion.
Cycle Route
With the number of traffic lanes reduced along the route, it is proposed that cycle facilities be introduced to make the area more accessible and permeable for cyclists. A segregated cycle route is proposed along the south west side of Strand Street, Goree, George’s Dock Gates, New Quay and Bath Street. This will be at carriageway level with cyclists protected from general traffic by kerbs.
Toucan crossings, which can be used by cyclists as well as pedestrians, are proposed at St Nicolas Place, Water Street, Liver Street & Salthouse Quay. These crossings will allow cyclists to continue safely along the route, and to link in with other cycle facilities.
In order to access these Toucan crossings, areas of shared footway are proposed. These areas can legally be used by cyclists and pedestrians. All other sections of the footway should not be used by cyclists.
Tithebarn Street & Great Crosshall Street
Tithebarn Street is another of the routes which is being developed by the scheme. The proposed cycle route along The Strand will link in with the existing segregated cycle facility on Water Street. The two routes will be linked by a proposed Toucan crossing.
Victoria Street
It is proposed to widen the footways and formalise parking within laybys and create two lanes of traffic along Victoria Street from North John Street to a point outside the former Millennium House Council office.
City Bus Hub – Old Haymarket
To allow buses space to layover in the city centre, without inhibiting traffic flow by waiting on street, it is proposed to replace the existing car park on Old Haymarket with a bus facility. This facility is to have capacity for eight buses.