“Not everyone can leisurely take a bike”: Active travel scheme branded “most expensive cat litter tray in history” by residents threatening to move away from “nightmare” area – but cyclists say town centre will become “safer and more pleasant place”

A public realm improvement scheme, which aims to make Stretford town centre “greener and safer” while “greatly improving the experience of pedestrians and cyclists”, has been branded the “biggest, most expensive cat litter tray in history” by disgruntled residents and motorists, after 12 months of construction work has left them allegedly ready to “move out”.

However, local cyclists and active travel campaigners, while admitting the works have “dragged on”, say the finished scheme will make Stretford’s town centre “a more pleasant place for people to live and shop”, and have criticised “impatient” drivers who criticise projects aiming to “improve any mode of transport other than their own”.

According to Trafford Council, the public realm improvement works to Stretford’s Kingsway and Barton Road junction will make the town centre “greener and safer, greatly improving the experience for pedestrians and cyclists”, through the creation of new cycle lanes, crossing points, footpaths, and green spaces.

Forming part of Trafford Council’s long-term ambition to reduce health inequalities and address the climate crisis, the local authority’s economy and regeneration executive member Liz Patel says the scheme will transform Stretford town centre “into a great place for residents, shoppers, and businesses”.

“These new road designs for Kingsway look fabulous and will make the road a safer experience, safer for pedestrians and cyclists and will complement the redevelopment work currently taking place at Stretford Mall,” Patel said earlier this year.

“Lots of exciting work is taking place in Stretford and the town centre will be amazing when the work is completed.” 

However, with 12 months of construction work only now nearing completion, some residents have been openly critical of the project, claiming that it is causing congestion and long delays.

“It’s a complete waste of money. No one I talk to when I’m walking my dog on Victoria Park has a good word to say about it,” 79-year-old Dave Cowell told the Manchester Evening News this week.

“It’s the biggest, most expensive cat litter tray in history, as far as I am concerned. I’m so fed up, I’m planning to move out of Stretford. I’ve had enough.”

Meanwhile, Roya Nasiri, who runs a beauty parlour on Kingsway, said her takings have gone down by more than half since construction began on the scheme.

“It’s been a total nightmare,” she said. “This should all have been finished a long time ago. They’ve caused all this disruption, but you never see any work going on. It’s crazy.”

“I travel into Stretford Mall every day by car,” Joane Scott wrote on Facebook. “I don’t mind being stuck in traffic. It’s going to be beneficial in the long run. What I do mind, though, is while the traffic is at a standstill at the red lights for at least 10 minutes, I can’t see any men at work anywhere.”

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Meanwhile, utilising a narrative commonly deployed by opponents of cycling infrastructure, Michelle Osborne claimed that the apparent increased congestion and creation of cycle lanes in the area would only benefit “leisure” cyclists, claiming that “not everyone can leisurely take a bike”.

“It’s actually a daily battle to get through Stretford. No wonder people are always in bad moods. Trying to get to work/school is a nightmare,” she said.

“Not everyone can leisurely take a bike. This work has been going on the 18 months. No wonder people of Urmston, Stretford and Chorlton are unhappy.”

However, in response to this criticism – which once again appears to situate cycling as the exclusive preserve of able-bodied, leisure types – Harrie Larrington-Spencer, a disabled cycling campaigner and researcher at the University of Salford who specialises in inclusive active travel, said: “I think the scheme is really nice and can’t wait till it’s finished”.

She continued: “Why are drivers so impatient when something is to improve any other mode of transport than their own?”

“We are getting there, albeit slowly,” added Sarah. “I will never understand residents who’d prefer a dual carriageway past their homes than some plants, a narrower road and nice things to look at. It makes zero sense.”

“It was an unsafe, shocking 1960s racetrack before, now look at it,” another resident wrote. “When I’ve been passing, there are people using the benches and kids playing. For that, it’s more than worth it.”

“The works have dragged on, but Stretford will become a greener, safer and more pleasant place for people to live and shop,” said local active travel campaign group Walk Ride GM.

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“The public realm Improvement works to Kingsway and the Barton Road junction are due to be completed in the next few weeks,” a Trafford Council spokesperson said.

“These works will make this part of Stretford greener and safer for pedestrians by replacing the barrier lined dual carriageway that divided Stretford town centre from neighbouring residential areas.

“The council would like to recognise and apologise for the disruption caused during the highway improvement, safety and resurfacing work in and around Stretford town centre.

“The works will transform the town centre into a place that better meets the needs of local residents and businesses and includes new crossing points, bus stops, lighting, footpaths, seating, planting, and trees. This new highway is being resurfaced during these final stages.

“To carry out the work, there will be some overnight road closures for five nights starting from (today) September 30. We are also working to provide permanent cycle lanes on Chester Road to provide safer travel active travel routes along the busy A56.”

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The creation of this protected cycling infrastructure on the A56 hasn’t been without its hiccups, however.

Last August, Trafford Council finally committed to introducing segregated cycling infrastructure on one of the city’s busiest and most talked about routes, after multiple instances of vandalism which saw the flimsy cones separating the current cycle lane from motor traffic being removed and stacked at the side of the road by upset locals, transforming the purported bike lane back into one for cars and prompting the local authority to announce that the police had been involved.

And in July this year, Trafford Council announced that the much-maligned “ham-fisted” cones are set to make way for new, properly protected active travel infrastructure, after £2m of investment was approved – though the local authority were soon on the receiving end of criticism after ‘Cyclists Dismount’ signs were employed as construction work began on the lane, despite the road still being open to motor traffic.