Hardly a week passes without a new thread on Facebook or Twitter about the cycle lanes going through Stretford. The main complaint has been the lack of transparency and news about what’s going to happen to them. Will they be made permanent? Will they be taken out? Will the cones be there forever?
There’s been some changes to Trafford’s leadership since the election and Councillor Aidan Williams has been added to the cabinet to take on Climate Change and Transport Strategy.
Councillor Williams took the opportunity of addressing a petition to give a wider update on the A56 last week when Council met at the town hall. The actual petition sought to exploit unused rail space alongside the Stretford Metrolink all the way down to Sale to provide additional cycling capacity. The council leadership agreed to explore the potential of this proposal but highlighted the limited access as an issue that meant it could never offer an alternative to the A56 for short journeys on bikes.
The cycle lanes have been frustrating for drivers and cyclists alike. Now that Councillor Williams is in place, we’re beginning to get coherent messaging. First indication was a tweet that Aidan put out in mid July, a simple tweet that made its way to both the Manchester Evening News and the Messenger.
The update at last Wednesday’s council meeting built on the information given out in the tweet. The council is going to consult on permanent cycling infrastructure in Stretford linking it via the Talbot Road scheme and (Old) Chester Road that gives Stretford continuous segregated cycling to the Manchester border. The design and landscaping within the town centre itself will be wrapped up within the town centre masterplan there.
Personally, I very much welcome this. It’s beginning to join up cycling facilities. We need to see what they come up with at the Talbot Road junction because that’s still dangerous and if the test is a 12 year old being safe, we’re still a long way from that. But hey, this is so much better than what we’ve been used to.
I’m really pleased that we’re getting some transparency now and it sounds like Councillor Williams wants to listen to all interested parties. Clarity is vital. We now know that cycle lanes won’t be installed along Chester Road in Gorse Hill. That will disappoint many, but at least knowing it, means that we can focus getting more crossings of that road. A crossing at Gorse Hill Park gates is an absolute must.
And we still urgently need that pedestrian phase at the Park Road/Derbyshire Lane junction so people can walk to Stretford without having to sprint. If Councillor Williams’s Transport Strategy responsibilities extend to getting people across roads, we’ve got a chance to start seeing some real improvements.
We’re in the middle of our selection as Labour candidate. It’s an important choice and the three candidates left standing are of a really high quality.
This is really an open set of five political questions to them as well as one operational question on an issue that has really troubled me.
My Five Political Questions
Economy – Are you up for the epochal reset of the economy that we need? How will you promote creating the green and sustainable economy where a family home does not earn more than the people who live in it?
Europe – Are you up for a closer relationship with the EU? Starmer says no going back, but will you push for single market entry?
Tax – Are you up for shifting the tax emphasis from work and onto wealth. Will you support a Land Value Tax?
Democracy – Will you be prepared to devolve much more to regions? Will you foster democratisation of devolved bodies, including citizens assemblies and for instance greater user representation in health and transport?
Education – Will you never forget the impact in terms of education and socialisation that Covid had on a generation of children and work to create a permanent lifelong learning infrastructure that supports them and wider society?
That troubling Operational Question
Let’s bite the bullet and tackle that operational question. There’s no easy way of broaching the subject. It’s on the issue of racism within the Labour Party. The party actually recognises it needs to do better and certainly has a focus on increasing diversity in its latest recruitment.
My issue is that it’s not just the regional party that needs to do better, our MPs are failing the diversity question in terms of the staffing of their constituency offices.
In terms of a selection, having worked for an MP, even for a short time, does give an advantage. It was notable that more than half the constituency’s longlist had at some time worked for an MP. However, the most important aspect is that these offices ought better reflect the places they serve.
Q. When elected, will you work with neighbouring MPs and trade unions to review current practice in order to diversify recruitment to parliamentary offices to better reflect the diversity within the population?
We have a longlist for Labour’s replacement to stand for parliament when Kate Green’s term ends.
It looks a quality field
This will be the third selection since the constituency was created and we can already say that once again there’s been no parachute in of a favourite candidate and no stitching up to prevent a local candidate from standing. We have a reputation in Stretford and Urmston of choosing good Labour MPs and we’re trusted to make our choice.
All those who declared their candidacy before this first stage have got through. I’m pleased to say I’ve not heard of anyone else coming forward to complain. So the selection is running smoothly.
Currently, Chester Road and Kingsway sever the Mall from the rest of Stretford and create dangerous, uncomfortable crossings for residents and high levels of pollution and noise.
My thoughts on the Accessibility of the Town Centre
Too limited in scale. The plan assumes that people only walk to the town centre from an area not much further out than Victoria Park. In making this assumption, it confines its consideration of severance to the A56 and Kingsway.
Stretford Foodhall and other venues that have started up in recent years are already successfully exploiting the walkability of the nearest neighbourhoods. The new homes planned for the centre will add further to this ultra-local market. However, the best potential increase in the town centre’s market share lies beyond the immediate area.
A walkable journey of fifteen minutes could reasonably define the catchment that Stretford needs to exploit. Applying this extends the area out towards:
Lostock/Sevenways/Derbyshire Estate,
Moss Road,
Gorse Hill,
The Quadrant,
Longford,
The Meadows,
Urmston Lane,
Moss Park.
The routes serving these neighbourhoods from Stretford are typically busy fast roads with narrow pavements, often in poor condition and subject to aggressive pavement parking. Certain junctions are already notoriously unsafe.
The council could work with Living Streets – Stretford to engage with the community in identifying further severance and improving walkability.
The risk of not addressing this is that Stretford loses walking market penetration, putting people in a taxi to Manchester rather than taking an unpleasant 10-minute walk to their local town centre.
Edit
As a consequence of this post, my twitter friend Owler Nook has posted an isochrone map of Stretford showing increments of walking areas. This is a live calculation available here
Isochrone from Open Route Service
What really underlines the importance of attracting these potential customers for Stretford all living within 15 minutes is the scale. The plan is focusing all its accessibility improvements on the inner ‘red’ area currently accommodating 1500 residents. Take it out to the 15 minute range and you’re targeting fifteen thousand people.
This week has brought a couple of pieces of casework that have not resulted in complete resolution (though have managed to get a couple of potholes fixed) but still worth the work in pursuing further.
Potholes in Lostock
There’s a lot of potholes in Norwich Road at its junction with Moss Vale Road. They’re not deep, but they are plentiful and the road looks a mess. Because they’re not deep, the holes do reach the criteria to be repaired. I’m arguing that the criteria should be tweaked to bring in sections of road where like Norwich Road, there’s been a systemic failure in a small section of road.
Barfoot Bridge
A resident noticed that the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct over the River Mersey was displaying visual signs of decay. I raised it with officers of the Bridgewater Canal and they’ve been to inspect.
The bridge seems to have weathered the recent storms and high water level in the river, but it’s worth giving consideration to the longer term. They’re hoping to bring forward the next more extensive inspection and have engaged a consultant of arched structures to look at the longer term. We want it to survive in perpetuity, so it’s worth following up on this.
A few predictions for this time of year seems to be the tradition. I’m optimistic.
Covid
I think we’re going to have a difficult few weeks with covid but spring is going to look so much better for those who keep up their vaccination. It will never go away but we’ll find it far more manageable with minimal impact on daily lives. Just to reiterate though, January/February will be horrible.
Healthcare
As covid normalises, trade unions will take a hard look at the equality of health provision. In 2023 it will not be defensible for the lowest rates of vaccination to be amongst ethnic minorities and manual trades.
(Trade Unions generally will be playing a bigger direct role in 2023 – and we’ll all be better for it)
Big wish – That we see a new health facility in the Gorse Hill/Firswood Area
Stretford
I suspect the focus will shift to the Canalside area. We’ve only had one or two artist impressions of people relaxing on the side of the canal. We need to see how this area can be brought to life and importantly, how it relates to and complements the work on the Mall.
Manchester United
Man U will be putting some meat on the bones of their plans to modernise and enlarge the stadium. I really hope Trafford’s leadership is not bought off with promises of ‘jam tomorrow’. Residents around the stadium have seen it all before. There needs to be a paradigm shift in how Man U connects with its neighbours both here and greater Old Trafford; and Salford too. There’s a real opportunity to place residents to the front of negotiations before officers agree to the bulk of Man U’s demands.
Big wish: That Manchester United places itself hand in hand in collaboration with residents and local businesses to develop a masterplan that puts Man U as a catalyst for a neighbourhood enhanced by them rather than impaired.
Education
I’m biased, but I believe that it was a huge error removing Kate Green from Labour’s education portfolio. Strategic thinking on how we address the twin challenges of Brexit and Covid is vital; and far more important than parliamentary bluster. Personally, I think this is an area that Andy Burnham needs to seize. We vitally need a skilled up work force that can compete internationally. Covid has been hugely damaging to a generation and yet it’s the aspect of levelling up that gets the least attention. The impact on children in Lostock and Gorse Hill has been far greater than Hale and Timperley and it needs addressing.
Big Wish 1- that we start publicising 11+ pass rates of schools. We’ve always been too polite and discreet about this but it allows certain schools to push the boundary of coaching. You will only see progress if you expose how inherently unfair it is to certain schools and their pupils.
Big Wish 2 – that we make an irresistible demand for a huge investment in Further Education. It’s never been more important to make lifelong learning routinely available to all.
Transport
Active Travel is going to continue to be controversial but it’s also going to edge forwards. We can’t have Stretford’s motorway restored to how it was; and a bus lane doesn’t help Stretford, or buses particularly there. We’ve got to make crossing our roads much easier and less stressful.
Nevertheless we are expecting work to start this year on the Greatstone Road/Talbot Road junction. Much needed as it’s been far too grim for pedestrians trying to cross Greatstone Road without a phase for them to cross safely.
I have quite a few on my wish list in this area but it’s worth pointing out that they’re all predominately for pedestrians. We really should have prioritised walking before cycling and I say that as a cyclist. No one cycles before they can walk and we’ve made it so difficult to get around on foot, it’s no wonder we use cars for ridiculously short journeys.
Big wish 1: That Trafford takes a strategic decision to make all crossings provide improved priority to pedestrians. Too many force the pedestrian to stand at the kerb, getting sprayed by cars for too long.
Big wish 2: A Chester Road crossing close to Gorse Hill Park. It’s awful having to cross there without any infrastructure but parents and children have to do it daily. Long overdue.
Big wish 3: Pedestrian phase for Park Road / Derbyshire Lane – I think it’s now on the list but needs pressure from Trafford to maintain its place.
Big wish 4: Safe pedestrian crossing for Raglan Road to Davyhulme Road at Fiveways. Clearly, I live on Raglan Road so I haven’t prioritised this one. However, since I’m going and daily have to chance my life against traffic from all directions, I’m going to include it in this my last wish list as councillor.
Big wish 5: Humphrey Park Station Tunnel : Complicated ownership/responsibility but this is such a valuable and well used pedestrian route between Lostock and Humphrey Lane and yet it’s in disgraceful nick. It doesn’t have disabled access, it collects rain and muck and it’s poorly lit. It can’t be beyond the wit of Trafford and Northern Rail/Network Rail to come together and sort it.
Big wish 6: A Melville Crossing beg button that works when there’s moving traffic. Not much point in having a controlled crossing if it waits until there’s no traffic before working.
Big wish 7: And this one really irritates. I wish we could lock Highways Agency, Trafford Council and TfGM in a room with a PC operating Street View to check every route from Junction 7 on the M60 for road signage to enable HGVs to find a sensible route to Trafford Park. I am sick to the back teeth of 30 ton HGVs getting lost in residential streets because there’s no signs once they’re off main route from junction 9 Parkway. I wouldn’t let them out of the room until they’d sorted it.
Gorse Hill Park, Fiveways, Humphrey Park, Melville
Amey
I think I dealt with this in my previous blog post. I don’t think we’re going to get from the seven year review the community engagement that we really need and was promised at outset. I do think it’s the only meaningful way we’ll achieve the focused service we need. There has been some improvement on occasions. I like the way that Stretford Litter Pickers has been able to work with Amey. I think that’s largely because Stretford Litter Pickers are more determined than most and all credit to them.
Parks
Too many parks have lost their swings. It’s vital we get investment. I worry so much about what covid has done to a generation of kids. At least give them park equipment to play on. We’ve locked them up for too long.
Liar Johnson is leaving the building
He’s going isn’t he? No one can survive their reputation being shredded the way that his has been over parties, expenses and his own arbitrary rules that he doesn’t pretend to stand by. The local elections will see him off and Labour will be cock-a-hoop.
Labour needs to be careful though. Johnson is the main reason Labour’s polling has improved. I am not sure Starmer’s inner circle are taking the right messages from this improvement in polling. I’m not sure it’s helpful to know what type of car they think Starmer is.
Lastly (and I mean it)
It’s always useful to list priorities. You’ve always come back at me to add a few more. I’ve always enjoyed that.
The fact that some of these priorities would have been listed when I first became a councillor I think says more about the way Council operates in its own bubble. Unless you have access to officers, you’re rarely going to make headway and that access has never been more at a premium than it is now.
However, I’ve only got about 10 more weeks as a councillor. So these will be someone else to pick up or not and that’s right. Generally, I am optimistic.
One of the things I think has really improved is community strength and identity. In Gorse Hill we’ve had the lantern parade and it was great. Stretford has been doing its advent windows for a few years now. I saw this week that Wigan had an annual fancy dress on Boxing Day. These locally based quirks are great and are a real hope that we can have neighbourhoods that are different and flourishing.
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