Active Travel Commissioner reveals plans for Bee Network walking and cycling map

Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, has unveiled her plans for integrating walking and cycling into the wider Bee Network.

Dame Sarah Storey and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has published a new map, detailing plans for active travel routes across the city-region. The map follows a review into the city-region’s Bee Active Network, set to be the UK’s largest joined-up walking and cycling network, and which will integrate with trams, trains and Bee Network bus services as part of Greater Manchester’s vision for a London-style public transport system.

Proposals aim to bring 95% of Greater Manchester residents within 400 metres of a high-quality active travel route. Plans will see prioritised improvements for pedestrians and wheelchair users, with upgrades for 470 road junctions as well as an additional 2,000 crossings on city-region roads. Cyclists will also benefit from the construction of more segregated cycleways and protected junctions on major corridors. In total, the network will comprise over 2,700 km of routes across the city-region.

Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey said: 

“We want to make active travel the natural choice for most people’s short journeys, whether it’s going to the shops, your local school or making your way to the bus stop.

“To enable people to do that, we need to give them high-quality infrastructure both in and connected to the places they want to get to. That’s why I asked Transport for Greater Manchester to carry out the first major audit of the active travel network in Greater Manchester to establish exactly what we’ve got and what we need to prioritise.

“Active travel, particularly walking, is the glue that links the wider bee Network together. And as we build that integrated Bee Network, we have a unique opportunity to ensure that walking, wheeling and cycling help people get to those wider modes of public transport, whether the first or last mile, or somewhere along the way.

‘’Places like Stockport, where the town centre and transport facilities are being transformed, are showing us how it is done and I’ve been really impressed with the walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure that’s been factored into their wider-planning.”

Since May 2020, more than 100 km of Bee Network standard infrastructure has been delivered including 19 km of protected cycling, walking and wheeling routes along major roads and 20 protected junctions. Meanwhile, a further 78 km of schemes are in development and are due to be completed within the next three years. In Stockport, construction of the new bus interchange in the town centre, for example, is also bringing with it improved walking and cycling infrastructure to link with the train station and Stockport Exchange business hub, as well as into the town centre along the River Mersey.

Plans have also been announced to expand the GM Cycle Hire scheme, currently only in operation in central parts of Manchester and Salford. Plans will see a phased roll-out to all boroughs of Greater Manchester, and integration into Bee Network ticketing to enable bike hire to be used to complete the first or last mile of bus or tram journeys.

Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt said: 

“Our ambition with the Bee network is to build a truly integrated, London-style transport network that enables people to maximise the active travel options on their journey and make easy connections to other modes of transport.

“The review of the Bee Active Network commissioned by Dame Sarah sets out exactly how that connectivity can be delivered and how walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure can be maximised for the benefit of people in Greater Manchester.

 “The economic potential of this type of infrastructure can’t be overstated and we’ve already seeing both small and large businesses benefit from the cycling and wheeling options with e-bikes and cargo bikes across Manchester city and neighbouring urban centres. It just goes to show that with the right expertise, planning and funding, the benefits of active travel are there for everyone to enjoy.”