Cycling campaigners have called on Manchester council to rethink ‘deeply flawed’ plans to revamp the Fallowfield Loop and Yellow Brick Road walking and cycling routes.
The local authority wants to spend nearly £5m improving the 14-km off-road path through the south of the city to make it safer and more accessible for users.
More signage, crossings, seating, ramps and bridges form part of the overhaul of the ‘Floop’, which links Chorlton in the west and Gorton to the east, while greater efforts will also be taken to tackle antisocial behaviour.
READ MORE : Manchester council unveils final plan for £4.9m Fallowfield Loop works ahead of new public consultation
However, the decision not to include proposals to fully light the two routes in the outline design has been described as a ‘massive missed opportunity’ by Walk Ride Greater Manchester (WRGM).
Manchester council says route-length strip lighting could destroy wildlife habitat running along the routes which are home to badgers, bats and protected species of birds.
The Fallowfield Loop has a history of anti-social behaviour in recent years, with a spate of bike-jackings in 2018 prompting hundreds of people to join a protest calling for greater police action.
Some cyclists and walkers using the routes have also been victims of violent attacks and now avoid travelling along them in the dark, according to WRGM.
The group argues that if the council decides that the route cannot be fully lit in order to protect wildlife, then a new east-west cycleway using the most direct roads and linking the same communities as the Fallowfield Loop should be built.
A spokesperson said: “This is a massive missed opportunity from Manchester city council to upgrade one of the city’s best loved greenways into a safe, welcoming traffic-free route that can be used 24 hours a day, all year round.
“We are calling on the council to look again at these deeply flawed plans if they are serious about getting people out of their cars.
“If it remains unlit, it does not meet the standards required to be part of the Bee Network, the 1,800-mile network of safe walking and cycling routes being built in Greater Manchester.”
Currently, the only confirmed area of new lighting as part of the scheme is a 450-metre stretch from St Werburgh’s Road tram stop to Withington Road.
Low-level lighting could also be considered, according to Manchester council, though this would come at a later stage of the design process.
WRGM’s comments were made on the final day of a four-week public consultation on the redesign of the Fallowfield Loop and Yellow Brick Road which ended on July 30.
More than 5,000 people responded to a previous consultation held after Manchester council asked for ideas on how the routes could be improved.
Councillor Tracey Rawlins, the council’s executive member for the environment, said the revamp is informed by an ecological survey which set out what improvements could be made without having a negative impact on wildlife.
“The green space found along this route is home to at least five badger setts, thousands of bats and their feeding grounds, as well as numerous protected bird species,” said Coun Rawlins.
“A balance must be struck between continued human intervention along this route, and how we can exist in harmony with the natural environment.
“Thousands of Mancunians have found solace this past year in the green spaces found throughout Manchester and it is incumbent that these are protected for future generations.
On the possibility of a new route, the council says this would not be possible as the money being used to upgrade the Fallowfield Loop and Yellow Brick Road is coming from the ‘oversubscribed’ Greater Manchester Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF).
The £160m fund, administered by Andy Burnham and council leaders from across the city-region, is being used to deliver improvements to public transport infrastructure as part of the first phase of the Bee Network.
A Manchester council spokesperson said: “This funding is focused on connecting every area and community in Greater Manchester making it easy, safe, and attractive for people to travel on foot or by bike for everyday trips.
"The suggestion to build an entirely new east-west cycleway would not be possible through the MCF as the available funding is many times oversubscribed.
“The suggestions made by WRGM will be considered as we progress the design and move onto making the much-needed improvements to the Fallowfield Loop and Yellow Brick Road.”
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