Greater Manchester’s proposals for the UK’s largest cycling and walking network, the Bee Network, have been updated and can be seen in a recently launched online map.
As part of these plans, the total length of the network will increase by 77% - from almost 1,600 to more than 2,900km. The total number of new and upgraded crossings will also rise from 2,000 to 2,400.
The changes to the Bee Network map have taken into account feedback from local authorities and the 4,000 public comments received when it was first published in June last year.
Transport for Greater Manchester has also announced that a total of 15 new Bee Network cycling and walking schemes with a total value of £134m have been approved by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
If approved, this would take the number of endorsed schemes so far to 57 and will deliver 469 new and upgraded crossings and junctions, as well as 205 kilometres miles of new cycling and walking routes.
These will be known as Beeways, and includes 32km of Busy Beeways, Dutch-style cycle lanes that are protected from motor traffic.
Key schemes proposed see Sale, Ashton-under-Lyne, Wigan and Stockport receive a range of new infrastructure, including segregated cycling routes and active neighbourhood projects, where the movement of people is prioritised over the movement of cars.
On working with CIVITAS Handshake, Greater Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris Boardman, said:
"The Handshake project represents a really exciting opportunity to learn from the best. We want to make Greater Manchester a city region where journeys on foot or by bike are the most attractive and easy option. This opportunity will enable us to look in-depth at what Copenhagen, Munich and Amsterdam have done so well, and to use those ideas to inform our work here.”
See maps of the proposed network here.
Discover more about Greater Manchester's work in Handshake on its dedicated page.
Image by: Transport for Greater Manchester
