Videos: TfGM releases flythroughs of Manchester bus priority plans, including cycling infrastructure

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has unveiled flythrough videos of its bus priority proposals for Manchester city centre and Oxford Road, which also highlight how its planned changes would result in new cycling infrastructure for the city.

Those include segregated cycle lanes, including ones that go around the back of bus stops, and roads open only to buses, bicycles and Hackney Carriage taxis and the emergency services, while a 20mph speed limit would also be put in place.

CGI mock-ups can’t replicate real-life conditions, of course, with traffic likely to be heavier at peak times, travelling more quickly than the videos suggest, and pedestrians nipping across the road among factors that would be encountered in a live situation, not to mention the rain.

The plans are now open for public consultation, and you can find out more details here.

TfGM committee chair Andrew Fender commented: “These videos really bring this transport scheme to life. You can see just what it might be like to travel along Oxford Road and right through the city centre by bus or bike – on safer, traffic free roads.

“Our plans will allow bus operators to run more reliable, punctual “cross-city” services that can travel right through the heart of Manchester. It would mean shorter bus journey times and people wouldn’t have to walk from one side of the city to the other to change buses.

“There’s also real improvements for cyclists and pedestrians. I encourage everyone to take a look at our plans and see what it means for your journey. We want to hear from people before the consultation ends on 26 June. Make sure you have your say.”

TfGM has also recently bid for £20 million of Cycle City Ambition funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to help it realise its Velocity 2025 vision.

A report in the Manchester Gazette last week - apparently based on comments from local Liberal Democrat MPs - claimed that its bid, submitted at the end of April, had succeeded in securing £15 million.

However, the DfT has confirmed to road.cc that no decision on the bids has yet been taken, and that details of the successful bidders will most likely be revealed in the summer.