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Our road is very similar to this although being outside of London it's not got footway bays. It's got a bus that comes down so everyone parks almost entirely on the footway on both sides - some leave enough room to squeeze past but many dont at all. All houses have at least a 2 car driveway.

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Quite - they're £60 each. It'd have cost more to pay someone to install it. I've emailed both Lidl and the planning department asking if we can have some more but for now its much better than nowt.

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I should clarify - currently they are right that parking on a footway with no parking restrictions is a police matter but in the above photo the van is on double yellows so the council COULD ticket if they wanted.

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One stand is pretty stingy as the 4 previous ones were well used, and its position next to the verge limits its usefulness for a second bike, but I'm glad *some* sort of parking is back now - and the location is good. The planning approval was conditional to appropriate NMU parking which helped.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 10/01/2026

My local Lidl removed some well-used cycle stands earlier in the year for an InPost locker. It took me complaining to Lidl who initially did nothing, and then the planning department, but as of today they've finally brought one back in a new, better, location: next to the entrance, on the frontage.

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Its also caused by the expectation of society that we can get goods next day or same day, and cooked food on demand every day - causing thousands of vans to be driving around and given 30 seconds per stop when the nearest sensible parking space is 60 seconds away.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 10/01/2026

Also shows how little effect the new laws will have - this is already enforceable by the council but they don't - either because they don't want to or don't have the resource. So why would a new law letting them ticket footway parkers be any different?

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 10/01/2026

I hate how 6Music has news at all - if I wanted news I'd tune into a news station or go online. I've got incredibly good at hitting the mute button at xx:30 every hour and then again at 3 minutes later which is just as its finishing.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 05/01/2026

You can also get ones that are credit card sized and fit in a wallet, I carry one at all times. Suppose if you want to stop carrying a wallet though that's not much use!

LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 04/01/2026

Snowy evening in Lancashire

When it gets really bad I use the grit bin to do the footways on our road, plus dig out and grit the top of our cul-de-sac where there is a crest as it joins the main road as otherwise cars get stuck.

Always impressed by Lancs County Council's extensive gritting network and the gritter comes past every night that is forecast around freezing without fail. They also provide a lot of grit bins for residents to tackle footways and other areas. Always worth giving credit where stuff is done well!

It really is very inconvenient when they're out of action and just shows what a missed opportunity it was the councils failed to use the funding they secured for a brand new one at Jackson's Boat back in 2019 and have now lost said funding.

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Second bridge condemned in just a few years on that stretch - luckily the Jackson's Boat one was refurbished relatively quickly.

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Beautiful! We've been promised it here in Lancashire for a week or two but nothing yet. I always enjoy riding it slowly on an MTB the first day it falls when its still powdery but yeah the second day onwards when the slush freezes it gets a bit hairy!

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Heaton Park is almost always the last holdout in a sea of cancellations - I've ended up there a few times for the same reasons! Its a beautiful course although the "B route" they do when it's icy is so hilly :D

I was flying to Jersey for a holiday (and doing the parkrun while there) and a good proportion of the flight were people discussing how they were doing the parkrun then coming home immediately after which I thought was crazy

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Yeah that'd be a good idea! With the 5k app becoming official some good info on cycle parking and cycle routes would be useful there too - it usually goes incredibly in depth to driving routes and car parking.

Roads were absolutely dead for most of my cycle today and then there was heavy traffic as I approached the park, with pretty much everyone turning into the park.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 31/12/2025

I love parkrun - however as usual I was the sole cyclist at the bike parking while the car parks were full to the brim! It does feel like it generates quite a lot of car journeys. I assume a good number do run/walk there though and is hard to see how many.

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The pedestrian crossings are supposed to be staggered as there's a feeling that if they're not, VI pedestrians will struggle to discern that the cycle track is crossed by a zebra crossing and the road is crossed by a push button crossing.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 29/12/2025

There's a few locations in London where the cycle track ends and cyclists are pushed out into a cycle lane because of pre-existing docks by the kerbside.

LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 29/12/2025

The London docks can't be easily moved to accommodate road changes (such as building a cycle lane), or to move a dock to a more successful location. The Manchester ones are just bolted to the surface.

LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 27/12/2025

Still illegal and good to get it off the roads but there's no need to sensationalise and stoke further misinfo and hate about legitimate e-bikes.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 27/12/2025

So much wrong with this story. It's an e-motorbike not an e-bike. The standard police method of lifting the rear wheel and giving it full throttle then reading the built in speedo and claiming it can do 100mph when with a person and wind resistance its probably closer to 30-40mph.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 23/12/2025

*not literally back yard before anyone tries to figure out where I live...

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 23/12/2025

This beauty is in my back yard now. Wasted on 2tph!

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This was absolutely the way cheers. Completely empty and absolutely lovely lanes on this stretch.

If you turned up at the station today at 15:24 you'd have had a 6 hour wait for the next running train. You could nearly walk it faster than that

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If your train gets cancelled its actually quicker to cycle the the 30 miles or so from Colne to Preston than wait around for your next one.

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The East Lancashire railway line is running services every 2 hours on Sundays now, and a large percentage of those appear to get cancelled or run late. I just don't know how you're meant to rely on a rail service with such a joke of a timetable.

Awesome thanks for the info

Cheers for the info! I can see on some street view photos some of the canal towpath around the M65 is very narrow and appears to have just a mud surface. Reckon that's OK with hybrid style tyres (not much tread) or is it going to be too boggy this time of year?

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I'm aware theres a roughly parallel canal route I'll be checking out earlier in the day but I don't think I want to be on there after dark. If crossing Jct3 on the roundabout is going to be hairy I could detour to the canal for the motorway crossing perhaps

Anyone familiar with cycling Chorley Road between Chorley and Pleasington? Looks like I can skip some of it using a quiet lane through Wheelton but after that I'm back on the main road from Higher Wheelton and across the M65 at Jct3 - is this section going to be particularly hairy?

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They seem to have removed their page on how to set this up but you just sign up on app.beryl.cc and ensure your payment details and phone number are there. After that it should just work. Obviously you can't see where the bikes and docks are or buy minutes this way but fine for occasional use.

app.beryl.cc

Bike Share - Beryl

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A little known feature of the Starling Bikes in Manchester (and Beryl elsewhere) is that you can unlock them simply by texting the bike ID to their number. Great feature for those with dumbphones or simply resent having to have an app for every single service.

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Genuinely if we can't even get this over the line (only disbenefit to motorists appears to be waiting behind stopped buses?) then what hope do we have for anything truly transformational?

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Between the two images above the town centre spent some time completely pedestrianised but was re-opened to the current layout in 2011 as people felt footfall had reduced without being able to park right outside 🤔

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Map layout. The images are Manchester Road. Through traffic should be using Broadway but some still insist on using Manchester Road, even though the traffic lights are massively deprioritised and you get stuck behind slow moving vehicles trying to parallel park.

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Nelson High Street many years apart. Hard to believe there were ever 4 lanes running straight through it and the public realm is much better although the current scenario of a mixture of through traffic and people trying to parallel park is still a little problematic.

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Reposted by LancsCycleSam

All of these skills built up on the project will be scattered to the winds because we have cancelled a chunk of the project and we're not building any more high speed rail.

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Walk Ride Salford @walkridesalford.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

even then I feel like it needs the time exemption badges like the main sign has!

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Reposted by LancsCycleSam

We have today submitted our formal support for the Peel Green Active Travel Scheme. We are encouraging all our followers to submit their own support (see following post), as drivers are objecting to this scheme based on it adding a mere 70 seconds to their morning drive.

walk ride GM
This submission is on behalf of Walk Ride GM, the campaign for active travel in Greater Manchester.
Walk Ride GM strongly support this traffic order to enable delivery of the Peel Green Active
Travel scheme.
Importance to network
This scheme is a strategically important part of the emerging active travel network, as it is the only highway route connecting communities in the Cadishead and Lower Irlam, Higher Irlam and Peel Green neighbourhood area with the rest of Salford, providing a continuation of the existing A57 shared use route which runs as far as the community stadium.
The proposed scheme provides those wanting to walk/cycle to major trip generators in the area with a safe way to do this, including:
- Visitors to Salford Community Stadium and Barton airport
- Current and future employees at Port Salford's employers, which are planned to expand significantly in coming years as one of GM's designated growth locations
-Children walking/cycling to Barton Moss primary school and Salford City Academy
(~15 min cycle from Higher Irlam)
- Any future Metrolink stop(s) at Port Salford / community stadium
38.4% of households in Peel Green have no cars or vans (2021 Census - Peel Green
MSOA), so providing safe alternatives to driving is essential.
Current safety issues
The scheme will resolve a number of safety issues issues for those currently walking/cycling along this section of highway, with a number of the below issues classed as 'critical' by Active Travel England and in the GM Streets for all design check:
- speed and volume of traffic cyclists are expected to mix with, including proportion of that made up of large vehicles
- areas of inconsistent lane widths throughout the section which don't dissuade close passes
- Narrow sections of shared use path along northern side with lack of marked priority across side roads
- Lack of tactile paving at side roads
Cyclists heading west have to rejoin carriageway immediately after M60 roundabout exit on left han…

Unsuitable alternatives
At a recent community meeting and on social media, objectors to this scheme have suggested alternative off-road routes via a recently improved path alongside Peel Green cemetery and Eccles definitive footpath 28.
While this would provide a useful additional leisure route for some, it should be considered a complimentary route rather than an alternative to delivering the scheme along Liverpool Rd.
Aside from the fact only the new section of path is actually passable on a cycle, routing those walking and cycling through an unlit isolated area with a lack of passive surveillance will render this route unusable for many, particularly women, especially at night, and would undermine the scheme's objectives of enabling modal shift for everyday trips:
- In 2024, only 44% of women (vs 67% of men) were satisfied with their personal safety at night while walking. (draft 2050 GM Transport Strategy, 2025)
- In 2024, only 48% of GM residents were satisfied with their personal security while cycling at night (GMA active travel annual report, 2024)
- "Targets for increased numbers of sustainable journeys on our public transport network and through active travel are non-achievable if the fundamental issue of feeling safe is not addressed." (In Her Shoes, GMCA 2025)
Validity of petition
We are also aware that a change.org petition is being circulated as part of objections to this scheme. We would like to highlight that there is no validation that the signatures on this petition are from those within Salford or even Greater Manchester. The petition was circulated on a number of anti-cycling social media accounts and it is clear that it will include signatures from those who have no connection to the local area, with some even openly declaring they live as far afield as Scotland.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 19/12/2025

Yeah I think the scale really got away from me. The circulating cycle lane is larger than a general traffic lane was... Realistically if you're removing the two lanes on approach which aren't really necessary you probably could do away with the roundabout entirely and have a compact CYCLOPS

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Reposted by LancsCycleSam

LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 19/12/2025

Been a while since I sketched one of these. What Whitewalls Roundabout, Colne could look like as a Dutch Style roundabout giving priority and safety to people walking and cycling.

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LancsCycleSam @cyclesam.uk · 19/12/2025

Massively not to scale, the widths got away from me a bit on some sections but there would be space for this easily!