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Archive => Archived Boards => Local Issues => Topic started by: JohnBates on October 19, 2017, 10:40:59 PM
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The draft Stage 2 business case has now been published. Hopefully we may be getting closer to spades in the ground for this. Lets hope for progress on Stockport as a Tram Train hub as well.
http://www.semmms.info/semmms/strategy/a6-to-m60-link/ (http://www.semmms.info/semmms/strategy/a6-to-m60-link/)
http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/A6-M60-Relief_Road_Scheme_SOBC_Working_Draft_v10_Client-Review.pdf (http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/A6-M60-Relief_Road_Scheme_SOBC_Working_Draft_v10_Client-Review.pdf)
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The draft Stage 2 business case has now been published. Hopefully we may be getting closer to spades in the ground for this. Lets hope for progress on Stockport as a Tram Train hub as well.
http://www.semmms.info/semmms/strategy/a6-to-m60-link/ (http://www.semmms.info/semmms/strategy/a6-to-m60-link/)
http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/A6-M60-Relief_Road_Scheme_SOBC_Working_Draft_v10_Client-Review.pdf (http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/A6-M60-Relief_Road_Scheme_SOBC_Working_Draft_v10_Client-Review.pdf)
Very good. A little surprised to see such a focus in the report on Hazel Grove and the A6 corridor and less emphasis on improvements to the A626 through Bredbury, which is where I suspect that the real relief will be felt.
Its a shame that the scheme will carve through the Goyt Valley, but I really don't see any other obvious solutions. In an ideal world this would all be part of a properly funded multi-modal approach to solving this areas transport woes.
Unfortunately I suspect that the majority of available cash will end up being spent in London. Crossrail 2 anyone? Just to put the north's under-funding into a little bit of perspective, Tottenham Court Road interchange in the capital (part of Crossrail 1) has sponged £1billion of investment..... or the cost of almost 2 Manchester Airport to M60 roads - of which we currently have half. Remind me why I pay may taxes again and how Chris Grayling keeps his job?
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Very good. A little surprised to see such a focus in the report on Hazel Grove and the A6 corridor and less emphasis on improvements to the A626 through Bredbury, which is where I suspect that the real relief will be felt.
Its a shame that the scheme will carve through the Goyt Valley, but I really don't see any other obvious solutions. In an ideal world this would all be part of a properly funded multi-modal approach to solving this areas transport woes.
Unfortunately I suspect that the majority of available cash will end up being spent in London. Crossrail 2 anyone? Just to put the north's under-funding into a little bit of perspective, Tottenham Court Road interchange in the capital (part of Crossrail 1) has sponged £1billion of investment..... or the cost of almost 2 Manchester Airport to M60 roads - of which we currently have half. Remind me why I pay may taxes again and how Chris Grayling keeps his job?
Worth noting that a huge amount of money for Crossrail comes from a precept on local businesses. Tottenham Court Road station has also been massively redeveloped - no mean feat when it has two active tube lines running through it - and will probably have offices built on top of it, bringing in more revenue.
Ultimately Crossrail is expensive because building tunnels in London is incredibly difficult due to limited land available, and the scale of infrastructure required. This is a line that will have trains 250m long and for good measure will be pretty much at capacity within months of opening.
None of this to say there shouldn't be investment outside London. Just that the scale and costs of development will always be on the high side. And equally London does contribute more to the costs.
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Some further detail I found. Over 60% of the funding for Crossrail comes from Londoners and London businesses. 28% comes from business.
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/about-us/funding
Central government's commitment is £4.7 billion.
I wonder how businesses in Stockport would feel about being told that they must cough up extra money to pay for public transport improvements...
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Thanks John for the heads-up. It's good to see signs of progress after all these years.
Looking at the map http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/protected-route-corridor-for-the-A6-to-M60-scheme.pdf
.. it's not entirely clear whether there will be junctions (rather than flyovers) on Marple Road and on Offerton Road, but I think I read somewhere that there will, controlled by traffic lights? If so, I'm not convinced that it will necessarily ease congestion on Dan Bank.
As for this: Lets hope for progress on Stockport as a Tram Train hub as well.
.... bring it on!
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Dave
My understanding is that it will be junctions on these roads, which lead to 'link roads' which will then junction into the bypass itself. Its all going to be traffic light controlled - pretty much like most of SEMMS will be. It will all be 'at-capacity' in a couple of years I guess, such is the nature of these routes that are built to a budget.
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Some further detail I found. Over 60% of the funding for Crossrail comes from Londoners and London businesses. 28% comes from business.
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/about-us/funding
Central government's commitment is £4.7 billion.
I wonder how businesses in Stockport would feel about being told that they must cough up extra money to pay for public transport improvements...
I take your point (Andy Burnham has been after similar local fundraising powers for a while now), albeit it still doesn't get past the fact that London residents recieve circa £1,600 per head of population in transport investment, an amount about which the rest of the country can only dream . I believe the North West is the second best funded area, at just over a third of that amount per head.
Its all a un-virtuous circle (if thats a word) - maintain innequality between London and the regions and London will always be viewed as the best and 'only' choice for business investment. There should be a greater attempt at trying to spread central government spending in order to redress the balance, rather than continuing down the same path. Chris Grayling's recent statements re 'Northern Powerhouse' (thats just a fluffy name to make us all feel warm and cosy, when, as usual, the sums of money are pathetically small when considered against spending in the SE) infrastructure has been just plain embarrasing and borderline offensive.
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I take your point (Andy Burnham has been after similar local fundraising powers for a while now), albeit it still doesn't get past the fact that London residents recieve circa £1,600 per head of population in transport investment, an amount about which the rest of the country can only dream . I believe the North West is the second best funded area, at just over a third of that amount per head.
Its all a un-virtuous circle (if thats a word) - maintain innequality between London and the regions and London will always be viewed as the best and 'only' choice for business investment. There should be a greater attempt at trying to spread central government spending in order to redress the balance, rather than continuing down the same path. Chris Grayling's recent statements re 'Northern Powerhouse' (thats just a fluffy name to make us all feel warm and cosy, when, as usual, the sums of money are pathetically small when considered against spending in the SE) infrastructure has been just plain embarrasing and borderline offensive.
I totally agree that the figures are just not right, but it's also realistic to say that equivalent infrastructure in London will always be more expensive than elsewhere in the country because of cost of land, and lack of availability for it. To build a big tunnel like Crossrail or Crossrail 2 you need a lot of land above surface to get materials below ground and waste material out. I used to work near Barbican where one of the many plots of land was that they used for this. The cost of buying the building there, clearing it and keeping the land 'vacant for over a decade must have been astronomical.
I have seen politicians claim that because X amount has been spent in London, X amount must also be spent in Manchester. I don't buy that as a principle. It's too simplistic, and sets up an us-and-them attitude. I think it's far better to look at equivalent benefits. Crossrail gives X level benefits to the community it serves. Let's get Greater Manchester a project that has the same level of benefit. It will probably be that the project here will be cheaper. And if it is, that's great too.
I am hopeful that having a Mayor will really help push forward public transport improvements. But it's not just money he needs. It's power. Transport for London has much greater power than Transport for Greater Manchester, and it's had it for 17 years. It has a raft of well planned schemes - like Crossrail 2 - in the bag and ready to go. Transport for Greater Manchester can't even control the number of buses or fares... As for trains, it's powers are very limited. There's a lot of catching up to do. And it will take time.
Incidentally a lot of businesses are seeing value in moving out of London. In my industry 20 years ago there were next to no jobs outside London. Now Manchester is thriving. Businesses are increasingly realising that there's talented people who don't want to, or can't afford to, live in London.
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My understanding is that this will lickly go to public inquery as so many of us living in Marple will object to these juctions due to Dan Bank, unless a full A6 bypass is put in to New Mills.
Dave
My understanding is that it will be junctions on these roads, which lead to 'link roads' which will then junction into the bypass itself. Its all going to be traffic light controlled - pretty much like most of SEMMS will be. It will all be 'at-capacity' in a couple of years I guess, such is the nature of these routes that are built to a budget.
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Yes, my worry is that a junction on Marple Road Offerton will not cut congestion in the area. It might even make it worse. But the report (P48, para 4.4.43) claims the opposite: 'Reduced traffic volumes are predicted on...... A626 Stockport Road between A627 and Marple'. i.e. Dan Bank.
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I tend to agree with your worries, Dave.
The urgent priority for Marple is the lack of a rail connection to Stockport, whether this be light or heavy.
Until that is sorted, I don't think a bypass would alleviate the issues.
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I don't think a rail connection to Stockport will make much difference, as so much of the employment is not within a short walk of Stockport Station. "end to end" bus lanes from Marple to Stockport may make a big difference, as it would allow express buses from Marple to locations like Stepping Hill.
I tend to agree with your worries, Dave.
The urgent priority for Marple is the lack of a rail connection to Stockport, whether this be light or heavy.
Until that is sorted, I don't think a bypass would alleviate the issues.
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Some further detail I found. Over 60% of the funding for Crossrail comes from Londoners and London businesses. 28% comes from business.
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/about-us/funding
Central government's commitment is £4.7 billion.
I wonder how businesses in Stockport would feel about being told that they must cough up extra money to pay for public transport improvements...
@andrewbowden you make a good point - remember how Manchester congestion charging was rejected?
But I would visit Stockport more with a fixed rail link of whatever kind.
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I don't think a rail connection to Stockport will make much difference, as so much of the employment is not within a short walk of Stockport Station. "end to end" bus lanes from Marple to Stockport may make a big difference, as it would allow express buses from Marple to locations like Stepping Hill.
Is there room for bus lanes /
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Is there room for bus lanes /
Yes, but will car driver be willing to vote for them, knowing that at least to begin with they will greatly slow down cars?
It is a real shame the two end of the "A6 bypass" are not opening at the same time, as it would have allowed bus lanes all the way along the A6 by giving somewhere for the cars to go. As it is, the first end will result in increased car usage, as the bus lanes can't be put on the A6 to take space away from cars, due to the 2nd end not even having been approved.
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There would only be room for bus lanes on the A626 if there was hugely complex and costly compulsory purchase of land on either side of the road, all the way from Seventeen Windows through Offerton to Stockport. I can't see that ever happening.
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But, provided a way is found to allow a bus to get from Marple to the A6 without delays and the A6 has bus lanes all along it, then the A626 does not need a bus lane all the way into Stockport.
"virtual bus lanes" can also be used, provided you have the land to allow buses to overtake cars that are waiting at the lights protecting the virtual bus lane. Combined with careful placement of bus stops, this can result in the road always being empty in front of a bus that is leaving a stop. Bus lanes can also be used by buses going in both directions with a bit of careful design.
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But, provided a way is found to allow a bus to get from Marple to the A6 without delays and the A6 has bus lanes all along it, then the A626 does not need a bus lane all the way into Stockport.
"virtual bus lanes" can also be used, provided you have the land to allow buses to overtake cars that are waiting at the lights protecting the virtual bus lane. Combined with careful placement of bus stops, this can result in the road always being empty in front of a bus that is leaving a stop. Bus lanes can also be used by buses going in both directions with a bit of careful design.
That will never Happen .
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There would only be room for bus lanes on the A626 if there was hugely complex and costly compulsory purchase of land on either side of the road, all the way from Seventeen Windows through Offerton to Stockport. I can't see that ever happening.
This is what we need... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdl3uxW3aI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdl3uxW3aI) ;D
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This is what we need... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdl3uxW3aI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdl3uxW3aI) ;D
It's a shame that bus turned out to be a dodgy scam!
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/07/failure-china-straddling-bus-no-magic-bullet-traffic-woes
Not sure it would cope with Marple's streets either.
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But, provided a way is found to allow a bus to get from Marple to the A6 without delays and the A6 has bus lanes all along it, then the A626 does not need a bus lane all the way into Stockport.
The road would need to be made wide enough to have two lanes in each direction. I can't see how that could be achieved even as far as Offerton.
"virtual bus lanes" can also be used, provided you have the land to allow buses to overtake cars that are waiting at the lights protecting the virtual bus lane. Combined with careful placement of bus stops, this can result in the road always being empty in front of a bus that is leaving a stop.
What does that mean, exactly?
Bus lanes can also be used by buses going in both directions with a bit of careful design.
Sounds pretty dangerous to me! Has it ever been done anywhere?
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Bus lanes can also be used by buses going in both directions with a bit of careful design.
Surely buses going in both directions will tear themselves in two :)
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There would only be room for bus lanes on the A626 if there was hugely complex and costly compulsory purchase of land on either side of the road, all the way from Seventeen Windows through Offerton to Stockport. I can't see that ever happening.
Hard to disagree with this.
Rail link badly needed to take away traffic from the only road into Stockport.
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With all this talk about bus lanes, compulsory purchase of land, and a new rail link, those who live in Marple should not forget that about 10 years ago Stockport signed up to a scheme to provide a cycle route between Marple and Stockport that could also be used by those living in Romiley and Bredbury. Since then they have made relatively little progress.
The Government is trying to encourage cycling and walking so why is Stockport Council ignoring the Government’s wishes?
Although there will be many car drivers who couldn’t imagine cycling to work, there are and will be others who recognise the benefits of cycling. Low cost for one, healthier living for another, and also it has been shown several times that in an urban environment cycling is often the quickest way to get between two points, so more time to spend on what you would like to do. So don’t forget cycling when pressing for improvements.
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The Government is trying to encourage cycling and walking so why is Stockport Council ignoring the Government’s wishes?
Although there will be many car drivers who couldn’t imagine cycling to work, there are and will be others who recognise the benefits of cycling. Low cost for one, healthier living for another, and also it has been shown several times that in an urban environment cycling is often the quickest way to get between two points, so more time to spend on what you would like to do. So don’t forget cycling when pressing for improvements.
The council are currently devising a Walking and Cycling Strategy. We do need to create a network for active travel, making it easy and safe to cycle, especially for the relatively short distances in Marple.
So, no, I rarely forget cycling and cyclists!
in addition, all Marple cllrs went to the preliminary briefing on a report on the current state of Marple travel. (That's why all those cameras went up a short while ago in Marple centre.) This very much includes walking and cycling numbers. This report, probably produced and published in the new year, will inform any changes to traffic control in the coming years.
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Glad to hear the Council is devising a walking and cycling strategy. Presumably it is logical to know how many people either walk or cycle in the area in order to see what effect the new Strategy will have achieved, but who are being consulted over this strategy?
If it is only Councillors, with respect, it is very unlikely they will have any great knowledge of what local cyclists need due to the many forms of cycling, or know how to achieve improvements to the transport system in the area in relation to cycling and walking. Cycling in particular has been ignored by "officialdom" for so long, few in control have any idea of how to cater for cycling.
From what I have heard, the recent unnecessary expensive and long term disruptive changes to Millgate and New Bridge Lane in Stockport was opposed by cyclists, but the Council went ahead with the scheme anyway. A scheme that many cyclists will ignore because of its inherent danger and disruption of their progress.
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A fair response.
Please contact me if you feel it would help. (This applies to any other cyclist / walker who reads this.)
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Thank you Councillor, but previous experience has shown that some Councillors may listen but then draw their own conclusions based on their own experience that does not necessarily cover all aspects of cycling.
On Wednesday 15th November the Council is holding its regular Cycle User Group meeting at the Town Hall at 6pm. They will be discussing the Council's Future Cycling Strategy. Anyone who has an interest in improving cycling conditions within the borough in order to encourage more people to cycle is welcome to attend.
We now have a new Chief Executive. Let us hope that this time the Council will not just listen to what cyclists say but actually act upon their advice and not assume they know better on a subject many know little about. Most people now think of the bicycle as a toy or a sporting device. We need the Council to recognise it should be primarily considered as an integral part of our transport system if we are to encourage some people to be able to commute to work and to school etc.
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I don't think a rail connection to Stockport will make much difference, as so much of the employment is not within a short walk of Stockport Station. "end to end" bus lanes from Marple to Stockport may make a big difference, as it would allow express buses from Marple to locations like Stepping Hill.
Retired now, thank goodness, but a great many hours were spend commuting by bus to and from Stockport often with the journey from Marple to Stockport often taking nearly an hour. The walk from Stockport station to the town centre would have been of little consequence had I been able to travel from Marple/Rose Hill to Stockport in 15 minutes by tram/train. As for 'end to end' bus lanes from Marple to Stockport I would just respond 'Dream On': the road is too narrow for bus lanes.
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If you wish to show support for the A6-M60 link please sign the supporting petitions
www.hazelgroveconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/a6-m60-bypass
www.change.org/p/get-the-a6-m60-bypass-built-save-stockport-s-eastern-communities-from-dangerous-traffic
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If on the other hand you think that destroying the countryside and green space is a really bad idea, please sign the petition OPPOSING the bypass
https://www.change.org/p/alex-ganotis-stop-the-a6-m60-bypass-save-stockport-s-beautiful-goyt-valley-and-green-spaces
I think it's been fairly well established over the past thirty-plus years that building new roads WON'T actually reduce traffic in anything other than the extremely short term. We really need to get our heads around the fact that our current mindset of using the car for everything is not sustainable. We don't need new roads, we need to get people out of cars by providing useful, reasonable alternatives
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If on the other hand you think that destroying the countryside and green space is a really bad idea, please sign the petition OPPOSING the bypass
https://www.change.org/p/alex-ganotis-stop-the-a6-m60-bypass-save-stockport-s-beautiful-goyt-valley-and-green-spaces
I think it's been fairly well established over the past thirty-plus years that building new roads WON'T actually reduce traffic in anything other than the extremely short term. We really need to get our heads around the fact that our current mindset of using the car for everything is not sustainable. We don't need new roads, we need to get people out of cars by providing useful, reasonable alternatives
Like what .so what is your anser to reduce traffic around lower fold Marple and other parts of the area .please dont say bus lanes car sharing it wont work .we need the bypass done
the final piece its been going on now since iwas Bredbury comprehensive school and im am now retired
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If you wish to show support for the A6-M60 link please sign the supporting petitions
www.hazelgroveconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/a6-m60-bypass
www.change.org/p/get-the-a6-m60-bypass-built-save-stockport-s-eastern-communities-from-dangerous-traffic
keep pushing for this i might see it built before i go to the heaven in the sky then i can look down and say they havent built that damm motoway yet .
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the problem is the people who've grown up with cars and can ONLY see cars as the way forward. Sorry but yes, the answer is better public transport and fewer cars. you don't NEED a car to get to work, you choose to work further away because you drive there etc etc
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the problem is the people who've grown up with cars and can ONLY see cars as the way forward. Sorry but yes, the answer is better public transport and fewer cars. you don't NEED a car to get to work, you choose to work further away because you drive there etc etc
I did not learn to drive until I was 36. Before that, I used public transport exclusively (or walked (or in my youth, cycled)). Now I do have a car, I couldn't go back to public transport unless it went from wherever I am to wherever I want to go every 15 minutes or so. I don't strictly need to use a car to go to work and occasionally use the bus. I wouldn't do so by choice, even if the buses ran to time, as it is just so inconvenient in terms of much longer journey time due to the timetable (and inability to go shopping, or to a food outlet at lunch). I chose where I work because I could get a job in Stockport. At that time, I lived 25 miles away and did sometimes use the train, but the trains were one an hour for most of the day and there was no way to get a decent journey time, as I worked a fixed shift. For non-work journeys, although some of them are theoretically possible to do by public transport, it would take many times the journey time of using the car and many are not possible at all in a reasonable time. Before I had a car, I thought I knew my local area. When I got a car, I found I only knew a tiny fraction of it, as so many places were inaccessible by public transport and too far to cycle or walk. Most of them always will be, as only a small number of people want to make the specific trip.
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Oh I agree entirely, public transport in this country is horrendous and not currently fit for purpose unless you live in London - when I lived there I didn't need a car and for most of my time there didn't own one. However, the answer is to improve public transport, not to build new roads that will simply become as busy as the roads they're intended to relieve. It's perfectly possible to create an integrated transport strategy but this means looking at the investment levels as a public service, not as a profit making exercise. This is unlikely to happen in our current socio-economic situation where money is king
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Transport for London's goal with trains and buses is generally run them at least every 15 minutes at all times. Because as soon as you do, people stop looking at timetables and just turn up and go. I lived in south west London for many, many years. I never looked at the bus timetable. As long as it wasn't past midnight, I knew I could just turn up at the bus stop and get a bus within five minutes. Ten minutes max. Some of the daytime routes would run until 1am. New Years Eve? Everything ran through the night!
This is also why the Metrolink does so well. You don't need to think - you just get to a stop and there will be a tram within 12 minutes, max. It's turn up and go. It starts early, it runs late. It has a decent New Years Eve service. Compare that with Rose Hill's train service in the morning peak where someone's basically decided what time to run the trains by stabbing a pin in a piece of paper at random, and there's virtually nothing after 6:30
And as for fares...
London's fares aren't that cheap, but they're integrated. The same ticket covers trams, tubes, trains and buses. You buy your weeks season ticket for the tube, and you essentially get bus travel for free for the week. So you become more inclined to jump on that mega frequent bus instead of travelling by car. Here in Manchester you can buy a monthly train&bus ticket but its more expensive. And it doesn't cover the Metrolink for no good reason.
But it's not just frequency and fares. It's destination too. We do actually have a reasonable daytime bus service to Stockport. Five buses an hour is pretty good going. But unless you're going to Stockport (or Romiley) it's pretty poor. The evening services don't run as often. Rose Hill's evening service is a joke. My parents don't live more than a few miles away, but it would be a nightmare to travel to them by public transport despite them living on a bus route and a railway line, because nothing connects well. It would take three buses (good luck trying to get them to connect) or a train followed by a walk then a bus (ha!).
Basically a lot needs to change before we'll get people using public transport.
You need to replace all the season-tickets with one multi-modal ticket that covers everything.
You need the frequency of buses and trains far better
You need to make more trams
Some of this is now in Andy Burnham's power - when he was elected Manchester got the power to take control of the buses (currently it's a free for all.). But fixing this mess is going to take years. And cash. The benefits are plain to see, but will people stump up the money?
When I bought my first car when I left London, I was keen that I didn't just use it because I had it when I could take public transport. But boy, it's not made easy.
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Incidentally where's the petition for those of us who are sitting on the fence as to whether this thing should be built ;)
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The Swiss public transport system is very good. I never needed a car when on holiday there. It is however extremely expensive in taxes.
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The Swiss public transport system is very good. I never needed a car when on holiday there. It is however extremely expensive in taxes.
I always remember my first experience with Swiss railways. Huge apologies on the tannoy because the train was going to depart 2 minutes late. By the time we got to the first station we were on time again.
You're lucky if you get a grunt on the tannoy when a Northern Train departs Piccadillly for Marple late. It's just expected.
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I think it's been fairly well established over the past thirty-plus years that building new roads WON'T actually reduce traffic in anything other than the extremely short term.
Agreed - and I don't think anyone in this thread has claimed otherwise. The new road won't reduce traffic, but it will deal with it more efficiently and without the ridiculous delays which we all endure at the moment.
We really need to get our heads around the fact that our current mindset of using the car for everything is not sustainable. We don't need new roads, we need to get people out of cars by providing useful, reasonable alternatives.
It's not either/ or. We need new roads AND we need decent public transport. For some journeys cars will always be necessary. The trick is to improve public transport to the point when at least some drivers will leave their cars at home and free up the roads for those who really have to use them.
But here in Marple I can't see that buses will ever meet our needs, because the traffic congestion will always mean they don't run to time. We need a rail or tram link.
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Severe traffic congestion around Marple, Romiley, Offerton and Bredbury has been an issue for decades. It's not a recent thing. Offerton and Bredbury are most severely blighted with it. A back of a fag packet calculation suggests that I've spent around 2 entire months of my life on Bents Lane. At the moment you need to leave home before 6:30am or after 9:15, otherwise you're looking at 45 minutes to 2 hours to get to the motorway network. 2 hours is not an exaggeration as this has been experienced recently, caused by some minor roadworks near Vernon Park. It's completely unacceptable.
During my working life I have met people from all over the country, and it's surprising how many of them used to live in Marple. The very first thing all of them say is how bad the traffic was, and that they don't miss it at all. It is markedly worse than most other places outside of London.
The solution is not for everybody to work within walking distance of where they live. The economy just doesn't work like that unfortunately. The trend towards home working will have helped, but I suspect this has been offset by the increase in population. Permanent home working is not an option for most people as some level of face to face human interaction is always needed. Better rail / tram provision will always be welcomed and is definitely needed. But the solution absolutely has to include the current Hazel Grove to airport link and it's natural extension to Bredbury. I for one am counting the days until I feel the fresh tarmac under my wheels on the new bypass and would be overjoyed to know that work has commenced on the A6 to M60 link.