Cycle Industry News)
Jonathon Harker3 March, 2020
Stockport is building cycle infrastructure into a new transport interchange, including a cycle and foot bridge linking the town’s railway station to a new rooftop park.
Willmott Dixon has been appointed to help develop the multi-million pound development in Greater Manchester, which will include around 200 new apartments that will be linked with walking and cycle paths through Stockport and to the Trans Pennine Trail.
The transport interchange is being pitched as a blueprint for further developments in the region.
Planning permission for the scheme was granted in March 2019, however a more sustainable route has been developed to link the new interchange to the railway station, following the contours of the landscape and providing open views of the iconic viaduct. A public consultation on the interchange bridge plans will run 9-29 March and construction is planned for early 2021, completion estimated for 2023.
“Stockport already has some first-class transport connections and this development will bring together bus, rail and cycling and walking – and in the future Metrolink – to make the town centre a showcase for truly sustainable transport links,” said Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. “The interchange development is just part of wider plans to revitalise Stockport and will act as a blueprint for further town centre regenerations across Greater Manchester.”
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) Head of Operations, Alex Cropper, added: “We’ve delivered an impressive array of modern interchanges over the last decade, but this is one of the most striking transport projects we’ve taken forward in a local town centre.”
The UK government recently announced it will set up a new infrastructure framework of cycle infrastructure design standards. Manchester’s own walking and cycling commissioner Chris Boardman was among those encouraging the government to dedicate more long-term funding that would allow local areas to create meaningful cycle infrastructure.