A quick update on the Stretford Cycleway in early September, following previous updates:

• Progress on the Stretford Cycleway – August 2018
• Progress on the Stretford Cycleway – Late August 2018

Talbot Road

The resurfacing work on the inbound side of Talbot Road appears to be mostly complete and new white and yellow paint has gone down for the double yellows, bus stops and mandatory cycle lane.

It’s disappointing to see that that resurfacing work is pretty patchy, with only the very worst sections being resurfaced. The quality of the resurfaced sections is also pretty variable too.

Amey said they’d have someone walking the route to check the quality of the work carried out, I’m not sure this has had much of a positive impact. They might be better off having someone riding it.

The Wand Orcas have also started going down on Talbot Road and they’re already starting to have a positive impact.

Just riding down the section near Gorse Hill Park, I got to see the Wand Orcas stopping drivers undertaking right turning vehicles and encroaching on the cycleway. This has been one of the biggest issues with the cycle lanes on Talbot Road, so it’s great to see that they’re effective.

Given that the Wand Orcas have to be placed on the inside of the white line (DfT requirement), opportunity should have been taken to widen the cycleway to accommodate them. Disappointingly, this hasn’t happened.

Another concern is the bus stops along Talbot Roads, where the protection ends. While you don’t get many buses along Talbot Road, the lack of Wand Orcas will give drivers the opportunity to undertake right turning vehicles or park in the way. This is a real weak link on Talbot Road.

Ideally, we’d have bus stop bypasses along Talbot Road as we have on Stretford Road. I suspect the reason we don’t is due to budget constraints. One option here could be something like Royal College Street in Camden, with raised cycleways along the bus stop.

Stretford Road

On Stretford Road, a combination of single and double Wand Orcas are being installed on the inbound side, starting at the Chester Road junction.

The Wand Orcas appear to have stopped the cycleway parking where they’ve been fitted. Though where they end, there’s still plenty of motor vehicles parking in the cycleway. This is a bit of concern, as I suspect we’re going to see drivers blocking the cycleway if the Wand Orcas don’t go all the way to the junctions.

This raises another concern that I’ve raised previously, which is the spacing between Wand Orcas. I suspect in some cases there’s enough space in between them to park a car, particularly where there’s the single wands. Time will tell I guess, but I suspect we may need to fit additional Wand Orcas to address this.

In addition to the installation of the Wand Orcas, resurfacing work has continued on the outbound side of Stretford Road. While this is good to see, I suspect we’ll see similar issues to what we’ve seen on Talbot Road.

Come back again soon for a further update.