Cars will be barred from a busy Northern Quarter street on weekend nights and bank holidays.
Thomas Street will be closed to traffic during certain hours in a bid to make the space safer for pedestrians and cyclists, the town hall has confirmed.
From next Friday, 14 June, cars won’t be able to travel on the street from 8pm – 5.30am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and from 8pm – 5.30am on bank holiday Mondays.
The same restrictions will be in place on Thursdays when they fall before a public or bank holiday Friday.
During those hours, vehicles will be prevented from accessing the area by removable ‘Manchester bee bollards,’ which will be located on Thomas Street at its junction with Kelvin Street and Back Thomas Street and adjacent to its junction with John Street.
The trial period – which came following a public consultation on the plans – will be reviewed after 18 months.
When drivers will have to move cars from restricted zones
Motorists will be advised to move their vehicles out of the restricted ‘pedestrian and cycle zone’ before the stated times.
The town hall’s executive member for the environment, planning and transport, councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “We are excited about the potential of this trial project, as we have seen examples from around the world of similar schemes which have proved successful in making streets safer for everyone, while also improving air quality and supporting local economic growth.
“Thomas Street is an incredibly popular location and we want to make sure that the area is more suited to pedestrians and people on bikes, particularly during busy weekend evenings.”
“We know from listening to residents and visitors that they want to see safe and attractive city centre streets, which are readily accessible for people using different modes of transport.
"By promoting sustainable travel choices, this scheme will help to reduce air pollution and it’s also consistent with our ambitious goal of making Manchester a carbon-neutral city by 2038,” she said.
She added: “We are committed to working with residents and businesses to review the scheme’s effects and gain their feedback. We hope residents, visitors and businesses in the area will enjoy experiencing Thomas Street in a whole new way and that what we learn from the project can help us to bring forward similar schemes in more locations in the future.”
