Peel Green Active Travel
We are proposing to make improvements on section of Liverpool Road between Brookhouse Avenue and Salford Western Gateway, and want the local people to tell us their views. Scroll down to find out what the Peel Green Active Travel project is, why it is being proposed, what the initial draft plans are and how you can have your say.
Why Active Travel?
Over the last 10 years, levels of traffic on roads have increased significantly. The additional traffic has brought more pollution, noise and road safety risks to local streets in particular. Many people in the local community do not have access to a car, would like to walk/wheel, cycle or scoot more but feel it is unsafe to do so – whether to school, work, seeing friends and family or visiting local shops.
Adding safer, high quality walking and cycling facilities encourages more people to use active travel, therefore having a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. It also gives people without access to cars the ability to get around more easily and freely.
Active travel connections can include measures to:
- Reduce traffic speed
- Create safer routes and attractive areas for local people to enjoy
- Help everyone get around more easily and safely walking/wheeling and cycling especially for short journeys, leaving the car at home
- Improve the area with more greenery and play areas
All these things can help towards making the local area a more pleasant place to be. Being able to move around safely and easily can be good for physical and mental wellbeing.
Other Active Travel projects are also being developed across Greater Manchester as part of the Bee Network vision to provide an integrated transport system that will join buses, trams, trains, cycling and walking. Across the network, Active Travel schemes, Active Neighbourhoods, and new crossings will connect to transform travel opportunities across all 10 districts of Greater Manchester and enable people to lead more active and healthier lives.
In the Peel Green area, the proposed improvements extend from Brookhouse Avenue, down Liverpool Road and up to the junction with Salford Western Gateway. Adding this safe walking/wheeling and cycling connection between Port Salford Greenway and the Salford Community Stadium would encourage people to pursue active travel as part of their commute or when travelling on busy match days.
As part of these proposals, in addition to calmer traffic; safer, high quality walking and cycling facilities, the local community would also benefit from more greenery.
Benefits of active travel:
Why was Peel Green chosen?
In 2011 and prior to the Salford Community Stadium (formerly AJ Bell Stadium) opening, Liverpool Road had two lanes of traffic. The road was then converted into three lanes to help with the flow of traffic during the construction of the dual carriageway connecting Liverpool Road to Trafford (Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme or WGIS). As this is such a highly populated residential area, the long term plan has always been to revert Liverpool Road back to two lanes of traffic.
The draft proposals have been developed around this plan and using the information we have gathered so far from traffic data collection.
How are the proposals being developed?
We are still early-on in the process, and we need your help to develop further. There are plenty of opportunities to give your feedback. The results from the survey and feedback from the in-person and virtual events will be reviewed by us to understand what local people think of the plans and to consider any other suggestions.
We will let you know about the outcomes of this engagement. Our aim is to work with the local people to develop detailed designs which incorporate the feedback and deliver what is best for the community.
Your feedback will help us develop the best proposals for your local area and we will continue to work with you and listen carefully to what you say.
The current timescales for project development and delivery are:
- 2022/2023 - draft deign development
- July/August 2024 - public engagement
- September 2024 - Salford City Council review feedback
- Autumn 2025 - decision if the scheme should be developed further followed by a community update
If the decision supports scheme implementation, it'll be delivered as follows:
- Winter 2025/2026 - detailed design development, tender and Traffic Regulation Order (subject to scheme requirements)
- Spring 2026 - scheme implementation
Our proposals
The proposals stretch from Brookhouse Avenue by Port Salford Greenway, along Liverpool Road, up to the junction with Salford Western Gateway.
The proposed changes on Liverpool Road include:
- two-lane traffic
- segregated cycle lanes on both sides
- planting and greening in central reservation and around footways
Sealand Drive to Brookhouse Avenue
There are segregated cycleways and footways, shown on the plan as red and beige respectively, on both sides along this stretch of Liverpool Road. The cycle route drops down onto the carriageway to cross Sealand Drive, Wilfrid Road and the access to the car showroom, these drops are marked in green. The footways have dropped kerbs and tactile paving at each of these junction crossings. There is planting marked in green in both corners at the top of Sealand Drive. The bus stop on the east-bound side of Liverpool Road, outside the car showroom, has a cycleway bypass with tactile paving on both sides of the cycleway where it passes the bus stop.
Liverpool Road eastbound carriageway is reduced from two lanes to one as far as the access to the car showroom, where it remains two lanes approaching the Peel Green M60 roundabout. There is new planting in the central reservation on Liverpool Road between Wilfrid Road and the approach to the Peel Green M60 roundabout with gaps for access.
There are new cycle markings on Brookhouse Avenue linking the route to Port Salford Greenway. The footway at the junction of Verdant Lane and Brookhouse Avenue is realigned and tactile paving introduced. A cycle route is introduced through the carpark on Verdant Avenue, so there is a continuous provision between Port Salford Greenway and Liverpool Road. The land between Liverpool Road westbound and the M60 slip road is upgraded with plants and landscaping on both sides of the footway.
Newlands Avenue to Sealand Drive
There are segregated cycleways and footways, shown on the plan as red and beige respectively, on both sides along this stretch of Liverpool Road. The cycle route on Liverpool Road eastbound drops down onto the carriageway to cross Newlands Avenue, Southlands Avenue, Woodlands Avenue and Sealand Drive. The cycle route is set back from Liverpool Road at the junctions with low planting marked in green. Road markings give cyclists and pedestrians priority as the route crosses each street.
The bus stops on Liverpool Road westbound near New Hall Avenue, opposite Southlands Avenue and on Liverpool Road eastbound before Woodlands Avenue have a cycleway bypass with tactile paving on both sides of the cycleway where it passes the bus stops. Driveway access is maintained.
There is a signalised pedestrian crossing on Liverpool Road between Sealand Drive and Woodlands Avenue. The cycleway markings change from red to green on the approach to the crossing from both directions, including across the junction with New Hall Avenue.
Liverpool Road eastbound carriageway is reduced from two lanes to one along this full section. There is new planting in the central reservation of the carriageway with gaps to allow access into all the sideroads.
Parking on New Hall Avenue is to be considered for loading to the adjacent shops.
Salford Western Gateway to Newlands Avenue
There are segregated cycleways and footways, shown on the plan as red and beige respectively, on both sides along this stretch of Liverpool Road.
The cycle route on Liverpool Road eastbound drops down onto the carriageway to cross Newlands Avenue, the old Liverpool Road and the access to Barley Farm. The cycle route is set back from Liverpool Road at the junction with low planting marked in green. Road markings give cyclists and pedestrians priority as the route crosses each street.
The bus stop on Liverpool Road eastbound, near the old Liverpool Road, has a cycleway bypass with tactile paving on both sides of the cycleway where it passes the bus stop. There is landscaping and planting marked in green in this wider area of the footway.
There is a signalised crossing to the east of the bus stop. The cycleway markings change from red to green on the approach to the crossing from both directions, including across the access to the industrial estate.
Liverpool Road eastbound carriageway continues to be a single lane along this full section. There is new planting in the central reservation of the carriageway with gaps to allow access into all the sideroads. There is a point on Liverpool Road, between the old Liverpool Road junction and Barley Farm, that is marked as a potential location for a pedestrian crossing. The southern access to the industrial estate is closed whilst the northern access is maintained.
For a downloadable copy of the proposal booklet, proposal drawings or a print-ready copy of the feedback survey, please click below:
Phases
Feedback review
Salford City Council review the feedback from the survey, and the in-person and virtual events to understand what local people think of the plans and to consider any other suggestions.
The Peel Green Active Travel proposal engagement ran between 15 July and 11 August 2024.
Residents, businesses, organisations and educational establishments along the affected stretch of Liverpool Road in Peel Green as well as wider communities were asked to participate in the engagement.
The engagement collected 226 responses in total. The respondents are primarily residents of Higher Irlam and Peel Green (44%), and Cadishead & Lower Irlam (39%).
During the engagement, we received many positive comments on the proposals particularly from local residents. These comments highlighted the following:
- Reduction in general and HGV traffic and full utilisation of the Salford Western Gateway
- Lower traffic speed and improved safety in the neighbourhood
- Safer access onto Liverpool Road from side roads without having to cut across three lanes of traffic
- Safer pedestrian and cycling environment could encourage active travel
- Quieter neighbourhood due to lower traffic speeds, planted trees and new, high quality road surface
- Improved cycling connections and a return to the previous arrangement before the road was expanded to three lanes
- Positive impact of local investment
Participants also expressed a number of concerns relating to the proposals, the below list summarises these concerns:
- Increased congestion in the area as a result of removing one lane of traffic in an area that is already heavily congested
- Concerns about bus stops with respondents worried that they wouldn’t be able to drive round buses waiting at the bus stops in the proposed layout and they would have to wait behind them due to the central islands. This is particularly seen as an issue at the bus stop near the car showroom.
- Comments about the volume of HGV's driving through the area, the vibrations felt in properties from it and how this is going to increase further with new developments/planning applications underway.
- Concerns about the Halo industrial unit development (formerly White’s Reclamation site), additional disruption, increased congestion and interface with the scheme.
- Requests to impose weight restrictions on the carriageway to limit HGV traffic.
- Questions about Full Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS) and new slip roads.
- Complaints about poor vegetation maintenance on existing cycleways/footways in the area, for example the Port Salford Greenway.
- Concerns about access to properties with central reservation in place.
- Reported match day parking issues.
- Concerns about visibility for cars trying to turn out of side road with new stop lines moved back due to the introduction of cycleways. Side roads often have poor visibility due to vehicles parked on both sides.
- Concerns about loading and deliveries where people pull up onto the footway/ cycle lane which might be greater due to the proposed central reservation and inability to pass.
- Unadopted access to rear of terraces next to the car showroom garage:
- Poor visibility on exit for vehicles – suggestion of two accidents in the past involving cyclists
- Cars waiting to turn in block traffic back onto Peel Green Roundabout
- Condition of rear passageway poor – sinking gravel surface difficult to pull bin over
- Questions about how the new cycle lane/ footway will be designed at this location to accommodate access
- Criticism about neglect of the Brookhouse estate:
- Poor state of footways, pot holes in carriageway
- Current infrastructure in the area isn’t adequately looked after, view that the money would be better spent in the estate on improving the condition of the roads there
- Query as to how driveway access points will work with the cycle lane – desire to avoid the “roller coaster effect” that has been seen on some schemes where there are driveways similar to this
- Comment around bus stop mini-bypasses and challenges/ conflict for these elsewhere.
Salford City Council are currently investigating these concerns and are in the process of carrying out traffic modelling to understand the full impact of the proposals and whether the perceived concerns can be mitigated.
Once this element of work is completed and reviewed, we will update on the findings.
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: July 24th, 2024 from 15:00 to 17:00.
Salford Stadium
2 registrants
Event date: July 24th, 2024 from 11:00 to 13:00.
Salford Stadium
2 registrants