A consultation over plans to improve the Fallowfield Loop cycling and walking route gets underway today (Friday 24 July).
Manchester City Council is planning to enhance the route, creating a safer, more convenient and accessible cycling and walking network and encourage more people to use this much-loved route.
The £4.9m scheme aims to improve the Loop’s connections to surrounding neighbourhoods, creating a more welcoming and attractive environment with revitalised habitat and landscaping. Upgraded access points are proposed to make entry and exit points clearer, plus transformed open areas, which will provide better places for people to stop, relax and for children to play, including seating areas along the route.
The consultation is the latest in a suite of projects which are being brought forward by Manchester City Council to provide high-quality, safer walking and cycling facilities, with the aim of helping more residents to choose to walk and cycle across the city.
The Fallowfield Loop is a 14km off-road path used by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders running from Chorlton-cum-Hardy in the west of the city, through Fallowfield and Levenshulme and on to Gorton and Fairfield in the east. Named after the railway line which used to run along its route, it is believed to be the longest urban cycleway in the country, running past several parks and open spaces and linking to many other cycle and public transport routes.
The launch of the consultation comes shortly after a new bridge for people cycling and walking over Hyde Road (A57) was opened to the public by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Abid Latif Chohan. The new bridge, which re-completes the Fallowfield Loop route, was installed to replace a former rail bridge, which narrowed Hyde Road from four lanes to two in the Gorton area.
Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “We’re working to bring forward a series of ambitious projects which will significantly improve the city’s cycling and walking infrastructure, helping to change how people in our communities travel and benefitting our neighbourhoods for the long-term future.
“As part of this major investment, it’s time for us to move forward with plans to enhance the Fallowfield Loop. We want to create a more attractive, safer route for people walking or cycling across our city, realising the Loop’s true potential and inspiring more people of all ages and abilities to take up active travel.
“But to do this, we need your ideas and feedback, so please make sure you get involved by taking part in our consultation, to help ensure that we design improvements which work for the whole community.”
The consultation closes on Friday 21 August 2020. Visit www.manchester.gov.uk/consultations to tell the council what improvements you’d like to see incorporated into the plans.
