Salford ups community engagement on cycling, walking and road safety
Salford is changing the way it engages with the public around cycling and walking in order to attract more residents to get involved and help tackle key issues in the borough such as school road safety.
The Salford Walking and Cycling Forum is being launched on Tuesday 13th November, with an open invitation to anyone to come along and have their say on the key issues and help form plans to solve them.
UPDATE: Visit the Eventbrite page to view the agenda and RSVP to receive future updates.
Catriona Swanson, Salford’s cycling and walking lead, said: “These are exciting times in that there is more investment and appetite than there has been before. So we want to refocus what we’re doing, to broaden it out so we attract more everyday residents to get involved.
“This is for people interested in air quality, public health, road safety and generally improving our shared spaces as much as those who want cycle lane improvements or a better walking route.
“For instance one of the big issues we have at the moment is safety around schools. Kids are being hit outside schools, parents don’t feel safe so they drive their kids to school – usually distances of less than 2 miles or often closer – and that is understandable but just adds to the congestion and rat-running, which is causing the problem in the first place.
“So how do we come together as a community to break that cycle?”
The new forum replaces the Salford Cycle Forum, which was held quarterly and provided a place for residents to comment on cycle policy and proposals, but did not include walkers or pedestrian issues.
Swanson says the change reflects Greater Manchester’s Made to Move strategy for ‘active travel’, and Walking and Cycling Commissioner Chris Boardman’s Beelines plan for improving walking and cycling in the region via the Beelines network.
“As Chris Boardman says, Beelines are not really for today’s cyclists, they’re to persuade people who currently drive short distances to make those journeys on foot or bike. So we want to use this forum, and others, to reach a broader cross section.”
The forum will be held at 6-8pm, Tuesday 13th November.
Sacred Trinity Church, Chapel Street, Salford, M3 5DW
Items for the agenda are likely to include:-
- an overview of the Beelines approach from its chief advisor Brian Deegan
- an update on plans to form an ‘Active Travel Alliance’ in Greater Manchester
- an overview of current Salford pedestrian and cycle schemes such as Monton
- an update on various innovate pilot schemes such as Play Streets & School Streets
- info on new community schemes such as Pedal Away
- discussion on the future of the forum
Other GM Cycle Forums
The next meeting of the Bolton Cycle Forum will take place 6-8.30pm on 20th November in Bolton Town Hall.
The future direction of the Bolton forum will also be discussed in the light of Made to Move / Beelines.
Manchester and Trafford have quarterly forums, with their next ones scheduled for 5.15pm on Tue 11 Dec and 6pm on Tue 8 Jan respectively.
Stockport has monthly meetings with the next one scheduled for 6pm on Thu 29 Nov.
