A6-M60 bypass through the Goyt valley (split from Cllr Allan Thread)

[andrewbowden]

theres a crossing outside the Midland the overflow car park facing Marple station is empty plenty of room  on Marple station car park why a crossing at marple station .

If you are going up hill to Marple having just got off a train, why would/should you have to go down hill to cross the road?

It's a busy road.  In rush hour you can be stuck for quite some time if you are not prepared to take your life into your own hands and rush across.

[amazon]

Thank you Malcolm for this very well-rounded response and congratulations for your re-election.

While some things are obviously long-term projects, I do hope we see something new to make it easier to walk and cycle around Marple soon, because painfully little appears to have been achieved in the past five years.

I would definitely agree that safe crossings at Compstall (linking Etherow to Rollins Lane and Brabyns) and Marple Station are long overdue and should be expedited. Could we also add Brabyns Brow at the canal to the list? I feel I’ve lost entire days waiting for a gap in traffic to cross there and I can’t be alone.

These crossings would all be quite simple to provide and I don’t see why the council couldn’t fund them from other means. We are clearly going to be waiting a long time for new Bee Network (MCF) funding. They should be funded as a priority by SMBC.

Likewise, in Marple North much improvement could be achieved by providing a better surface on the track up from Brabyns Park to the canal (the only way to bypass the horrible road by bike) and on the rest of the Alan Newton Way - the resurfaced hill is a start, but the rest of the path down from Marple Hall gets terribly wet at times considering it is the only safe off-road link into Stockport. An alternative would be to fix the Dale Road route and at the same time make it accessible for cyclists for equestrians, as was originally planned when the bridge was proposed. We also need a much wider 20mph limit to cover residential side streets. Other areas like High Lane have this but Marple has been completely left out.

Thanks for your time, good luck! 

theres a crossing outside the Midland the overflow car park facing Marple station is empty plenty of room  on Marple station car park why a crossing at marple station .

[rsh]

Bee networks, which is under the Chris Boardman initiative, has lots of good ideas and the various Walk/Ride groups in our area, specifically set up for the initiative, have submitted proposals, which I and my colleagues support, and indeed which I had some input into. I spoke to Chris Boardman personally about these sometime ago (pre lockdown at the last presentation he made to councillors), one of the topics being the length of time taken to get some pilot examples implemented to test it out more. He explained that the delay was mainly due to the need to change national legislation and get national Government on board which was taking time. There are two preferred locations for crossings we have submitted (Marple Station, Compstall Road Marple Bridge) and meanwhile a number of pathways and routes are being improved but as yet Boardman funding to Stockport has not found its way to our ward, where additionally I’d like to see some pathways put right/improved (eg the path from the end of Dale Road to Chardkirk) and I’d like to see better cycle facilities in our Town Centre. We also need a root and branch look at the Marple Town Centre which is insufficiently pedestrian, wheelchair and cycle friendly. A study is underway and bodies like the Neighbourhood Forum (of which I’m a committee member) are pushing for both results of this study and improvements as an outcome.

Thank you Malcolm for this very well-rounded response and congratulations for your re-election.

While some things are obviously long-term projects, I do hope we see something new to make it easier to walk and cycle around Marple soon, because painfully little appears to have been achieved in the past five years.

I would definitely agree that safe crossings at Compstall (linking Etherow to Rollins Lane and Brabyns) and Marple Station are long overdue and should be expedited. Could we also add Brabyns Brow at the canal to the list? I feel I’ve lost entire days waiting for a gap in traffic to cross there and I can’t be alone.

These crossings would all be quite simple to provide and I don’t see why the council couldn’t fund them from other means. We are clearly going to be waiting a long time for new Bee Network (MCF) funding. They should be funded as a priority by SMBC.

Likewise, in Marple North much improvement could be achieved by providing a better surface on the track up from Brabyns Park to the canal (the only way to bypass the horrible road by bike) and on the rest of the Alan Newton Way - the resurfaced hill is a start, but the rest of the path down from Marple Hall gets terribly wet at times considering it is the only safe off-road link into Stockport. An alternative would be to fix the Dale Road route and at the same time make it accessible for cyclists for equestrians, as was originally planned when the bridge was proposed. We also need a much wider 20mph limit to cover residential side streets. Other areas like High Lane have this but Marple has been completely left out.

Thanks for your time, good luck! 

[Dave]

Oh dear. That's a real blow to the area; it should have been built years ago.

Good grief! I’m agreeing with Condate 😳. But he’s dead right about this. The continuous procession of HGVs along Offerton Road, Dooley Lane and Bents Lane can only get worse and worse until eventually the link road scheme has to be revived.

[amazon]

Think I may have a different view of what a good food store is, cos if you are referring to Asda, well I happily go out of my way to avoid that place.

For months they had a big banner telling off their staff for poor checking of customer age on alcohol sales.  It was clearly supposed to have been put up in a staff only area.  They put it right next to their checkouts so all the customers could see that this was a great place to buy booze when underage!

I was so amazed by this I took a photo and uploaded it to Google Maps. 

Their self service checkouts are terrible, the range appalling, it's poorly organised, and I once had a very friendly conversation with one of their staff members who - completely unprompted - spent ages moaning about her employer for forcing her to work Boxing Day.

Yeah. Can't speak for anyone else but I avoid Asda Marple like the plague.

We could have had a better store not very far away but the Banner brigade put a stop to that .

[jimblob]

Why shop at Morrisons when you have a perfectly good foodstore in Marple? And then why chose to complain about traffic delaying your trip from your out of Marple foodstore? I'm sure all those people in the queue, also making such desperately important journeys, were as equally frustrated as yourself at the lack of highway capacity to allow them to do whatever they want to.

"Perfectly good" is something of a subjective description in my opinion and I have to agree @andrewbowden on that front. Shame we were never allowed to build a Tesco but the local Nimbys put bay to that plan.
As for Morrisons, I can go to a single shop and get all the things I need in relation to food (+ some other useful items as well), I don't have to worry about having my car damaged in Asda's car park, I can combine the trip to also call at Screwfix and collect some hardware I need (that Hollins store incidentally doesn't stock)....
Yes, it IS my choice but one I feel I pay handsomely for based on the society and economy we are taxed for.

[andrewbowden]

Why shop at Morrisons when you have a perfectly good foodstore in Marple? And then why chose to complain about traffic delaying your trip from your out of Marple foodstore? I'm sure all those people in the queue, also making such desperately important journeys, were as equally frustrated as yourself at the lack of highway capacity to allow them to do whatever they want to.

Think I may have a different view of what a good food store is, cos if you are referring to Asda, well I happily go out of my way to avoid that place.

For months they had a big banner telling off their staff for poor checking of customer age on alcohol sales.  It was clearly supposed to have been put up in a staff only area.  They put it right next to their checkouts so all the customers could see that this was a great place to buy booze when underage!

I was so amazed by this I took a photo and uploaded it to Google Maps. 

Their self service checkouts are terrible, the range appalling, it's poorly organised, and I once had a very friendly conversation with one of their staff members who - completely unprompted - spent ages moaning about her employer for forcing her to work Boxing Day.

Yeah. Can't speak for anyone else but I avoid Asda Marple like the plague.

[Belly]

I had cause to drive back from Morrisons, along Otterspool and Dooley Lane at around 2pm. Traffic was queueing from before Chadkirk and when I eventually did manage to ascend Dan Bank, traffic was solid coming down Dan Bank all the way to Rose Hill Station. We're told we don't need a bypass, think a cycle lane or two and an extra bus will fix this and yet we have built an economy based on car ownership and the independence that brings.

Why shop at Morrisons when you have a perfectly good foodstore in Marple? And then why chose to complain about traffic delaying your trip from your out of Marple foodstore? I'm sure all those people in the queue, also making such desperately important journeys, were as equally frustrated as yourself at the lack of highway capacity to allow them to do whatever they want to.

[Malcolm Allan]

I'll respond to these posts shortly, but admin might like to note this debate, which is an interesting general one, and which is maybe best on another page, as this was set up as an invite by admin to make an election posting which I'll now do.


This topic has now been split from Cllr Allan's introductory thread. Admin

[jimblob]

To stick with the theme of traffic, if there is no prospect of diverting traffic around Marple what are your proposals for reducing the number of traffic movements within Marple, I'd be very interested how you'd progress any proposals or plans that arise from the various studies / focus groups / bee network consultations. Currently the ward councillors have been in post for many years and Marple is yet to see any improvements.

Best
Andy

All plans to date seem to be to deter motorists from passing through Marple or at least making it a "less favourable" option for road users. Sadly though, without any thought or provision for an alternative. Add to that, conversations about developing more hosuing around the Rose Hill Area and yet, still no thought given to the impact on traffic other than building the odd cycle lane. Incidentally, the Otterspool cycle lane still remains so poorly marked that cyclings don't realise it's soley for them and the continue to use the now narrowed road. Yesterday (Sunday 18th April) I had cause to drive back from Morrisons, along Otterspool and Dooley Lane at around 2pm. Traffic was queueing from before Chadkirk and when I eventually did manage to ascend Dan Bank, traffic was solid coming down Dan Bank all the way to Rose Hill Station. We're told we don't need a bypass, think a cycle lane or two and an extra bus will fix this and yet we have built an economy based on car ownership and the independence that brings. Taxation to deter motorists seems toe common theme but again with no alternatives. What will it take for Stockport to wake up and smell the coffee and stop bashing the car ownerr and wasting millions of highways improvements that are anything but! We are the majority, the ones who earn, pay our taxes and keep our ecomony going and yet we continue to be pilloried and penalised.
£250k spent on design and installation of "mitigation measures" on Windlehurst after the bypass was built. A consultation late 2020 at a cost of £10.5k whose results confirmed that out of nearly 1000 respondents, over 80% requested that these measures are removed in their entirety. That's ONE example!... how many more of these "improvements" that we don't want have we funded. Cummon Stockport, get your priorities right!

[andy+kirsty]

Hi Malcolm,

From the dealings we have had you've always been approachable and have listened to ideas and been honest in describing where the issues are. You're not standing in my ward so I can't vote for you.

To stick with the theme of traffic, if there is no prospect of diverting traffic around Marple what are your proposals for reducing the number of traffic movements within Marple, I'd be very interested how you'd progress any proposals or plans that arise from the various studies / focus groups / bee network consultations. Currently the ward councillors have been in post for many years and Marple is yet to see any improvements.

Best
Andy

[Condate]

The A6-M60 by pass is no longer on the agenda. It did not find the funding from central Government which was needed for any further progress.

Oh dear. That's a real blow to the area; it should have been built years ago. Anyway, thanks for the info; at least we can't blame the council for this mistake.

[amazon]

Thanks for the question. My delay in replying is due to the period of mourning for HRH Prince Philip.

The A60-M60 by pass is no longer on the agenda. It did not find the funding from central Government which was needed for any further progress. It was still subject to council review at that stage and had not been determined either way. In all such matters I believe my job is to represent views of residents in my ward. At the time it stopped, some other wards were either strongly pro or strongly against.
 
Bee networks, which is under the Chris Boardman initiative, has lots of good ideas and the various Walk/Ride groups in our area, specifically set up for the initiative, have submitted proposals, which I and my colleagues support, and indeed which I had some input into. I spoke to Chris Boardman personally about these sometime ago (pre lockdown at the last presentation he made to councillors), one of the topics being the length of time taken to get some pilot examples implemented to test it out more. He explained that the delay was mainly due to the need to change national legislation and get national Government on board which was taking time. There are two preferred locations for crossings we have submitted (Marple Station, Compstall Road Marple Bridge) and meanwhile a number of pathways and routes are being improved but as yet Boardman funding to Stockport has not found its way to our ward, where additionally I’d like to see some pathways put right/improved (eg the path from the end of Dale Road to Chardkirk) and I’d like to see better cycle facilities in our Town Centre. We also need a root and branch look at the Marple Town Centre which is insufficiently pedestrian, wheelchair and cycle friendly. A study is underway and bodies like the Neighbourhood Forum (of which I’m a committee member) are pushing for both results of this study and improvements as an outcome.

Thank you .

[Malcolm Allan]

Thanks for the question. My delay in replying is due to the period of mourning for HRH Prince Philip.

The A60-M60 by pass is no longer on the agenda. It did not find the funding from central Government which was needed for any further progress. It was still subject to council review at that stage and had not been determined either way. In all such matters I believe my job is to represent views of residents in my ward. At the time it stopped, some other wards were either strongly pro or strongly against.
 
Bee networks, which is under the Chris Boardman initiative, has lots of good ideas and the various Walk/Ride groups in our area, specifically set up for the initiative, have submitted proposals, which I and my colleagues support, and indeed which I had some input into. I spoke to Chris Boardman personally about these sometime ago (pre lockdown at the last presentation he made to councillors), one of the topics being the length of time taken to get some pilot examples implemented to test it out more. He explained that the delay was mainly due to the need to change national legislation and get national Government on board which was taking time. There are two preferred locations for crossings we have submitted (Marple Station, Compstall Road Marple Bridge) and meanwhile a number of pathways and routes are being improved but as yet Boardman funding to Stockport has not found its way to our ward, where additionally I’d like to see some pathways put right/improved (eg the path from the end of Dale Road to Chardkirk) and I’d like to see better cycle facilities in our Town Centre. We also need a root and branch look at the Marple Town Centre which is insufficiently pedestrian, wheelchair and cycle friendly. A study is underway and bodies like the Neighbourhood Forum (of which I’m a committee member) are pushing for both results of this study and improvements as an outcome.   

[rsh]

Hello Malcolm,

Do you support the A6-M60 bypass through the Goyt valley?

What improvements would you like to see regarding local walking and cycling networks? Marple and High Lane have so far been completely left out of any “Bee Network” plans.