A34 Corridor (i.e. Bridge Street/John Dalton Street) – plans to reduce private vehicle traffic and create a pedestrian-friendly area
We want our city to be a great place to be. Somewhere that people want to visit, live and work, with clean air and safe, green pleasant streets. To get this we’ve got to make some big changes so we can have the city centre we deserve.
We want your views on some new highway and streetscape improvements to the A34 between the River Irwell and the junction of Princess Street with Fountain Street in Manchester City Centre.
This vital city centre highway route links key destinations, including Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, the Courts and Salford Central Railway Station. The A34 is an important bus and walking route, in and out of the city centre, used by lots of commuters, residents, businesses and visitors. The City Centre Transport Strategy aims for 90% of morning peak trips into the city centre to be made on foot, by cycle or public transport before 2040. We want our city centre to have cleaner air, supporting our carbon reduction targets and more public space so that we can make walking the main way of getting around.
While it’s an important route, we know that there are some problems which could be improved by making changes. Wide carriageways, limited crossing places and parked vehicles, make crossing the roads and junctions difficult. Walking down the streets is difficult where pedestrians are also waiting for buses and there is a mixture of existing on street loading, parking and street clutter. This is having an impact on how much room pedestrians, and wheelchair and mobility scooter users. The carriageway and pavements in some places are in poor condition and have a mix of different paving materials.
Our proposed changes for this area aim to:
- Provide more space on pavements for people to walk
- Widen pedestrian crossings
- Improve pedestrian crossings on narrow side streets by raising the carriageway to slow down turning vehicles
- Reduce road widths to reduce traffic speeds and encourage drivers to park and stop elsewhere
- Help public transport flow more smoothly, by reducing private car usage
- Improve bus stops by increasing space for people to wait
- Create pleasant spaces for people to spend time in and walk through to key City Centre destinations
Read more about the detailed proposals and download the area plans.