The engineering company Arup and cycling charity Sustrans have begun work with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and local councils to design 10 Active Neighbourhood schemes (or Low Traffic Neighbourhoods) across the Greater Manchester region, writes a statement.
The project aims to prioritise the movement, health and safety of people over cars. Features include modal filters such as benches, planters or bollards to reduce traffic on residential streets, encouraging walking and cycling for local journeys, and creating quieter, more attractive places for residents.
It is part of the Bee Network, a 10-year plan for Greater Manchester to deliver the UK’s largest joined-up cycling and walking network, eventually spanning 1,800 miles. Work has begun with communities to gather feedback from local residents on questions such as what they like and dislike about the streets in their area, and whether they would support measures to reduce car journeys.
James Tate, Active Neighbourhoods Project Manager at Arup, said that with the measures put in place to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, “local councils now have the unique opportunity to create long-term behaviour change, in which active transport becomes the norm, by putting the right infrastructure in place across the UK’s cities.”
