As the smell of freshly laid tarmac fills the air, a woman in a car pulls up to the traffic lights at a junction in Bury which has been redesigned specifically with cyclists and pedestrians in mind.
Rolling down her windows as the sound of Rihanna pulsates out from her car speakers, she looks directly at a construction worker and shouts “this is a total waste of taxpayers' money!" in his direction before driving off. He looks bemused, but carries on with tarmacking the road as if it's something he's already heard a few times before.
Announced early last year, A56 Manchester Road and A58 Jubilee Way near Bury Town Hall have been revamped as a CYCLOPS (Cycle Optimised Protected Signals) junction - with three give way points, six entrances and a mini set of traffic lights for cyclists.
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The layout, which was built using part of a £1mil public fund, is meant to "separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor traffic" and follows similar CYCLOPs junctions already seen in south Manchester and Bolton. While most agree a scheme to help pedestrians and cyclists is a good thing, a number of residents say they have some concerns over the finished product.
Danielle McManus lives in the area and regularly walks through the junction to get into Bury town centre. She says she likes the idea of the CYCLOPS junction, but is worried it is going to be seen by many as a short-lived ‘novelty’.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Danielle tells the M.E.N. “I’ve seen a lot of cyclists around here but the problem is that it only seems to go so far. Once they’re out of the junction, they’re back on the main road with the cars anyway.
“It seems to me that people will just continue to use the paths anyway.”
Wayne Cosgrove says the junction itself ‘gets really busy’ so can see why it’s been implemented where it has but believes the scope of the project hasn’t been fully realised.
“I don’t think it’s going to make much difference,” he says. “The way the traffic keeps piling up only makes me think it could lead to more accidents.
“There’s a lot of idiots around here who blast by on their scooters or cars - lights don’t mean much to them. People always try to beat the lights. If you have a car flying up here and then a bike goes through, there’s going to be an accident.”
Wayne says he believes the layout of the junction, which consists of an island prioritising cycle traffic alongside cycle routes, might be difficult for pedestrians to understand.
“That island in the middle is really confusing,” he says. “Not only for cyclists but I’m not sure where to walk as a pedestrian. It’s hard to see which way you’re supposed to go and I think that could cause some issues.”
Cyclists Janet Atkinson and Kath Mullaney, who are group leaders for British Cycling, say they share similar concerns about the junction.
“Separate cycle paths are always a good idea if they’re going to be safe and not lead to sharing the same space,” Kath explains. “But this junction just suddenly ends. It’s just forcing cyclists back into traffic as soon as you come off it.
“As cyclists, we tend to annoy motorists when we are sharing a road with them as it is difficult when you’re much smaller and struggle to be seen. I think it might cause more issues with that.”
Janet adds: “I understand why they’re trying to put in a cycle lane but cyclists are then being forced off it into three lanes of traffic. It’s awful really, there’s no cycle lane outside of the junction so we don’t really know where to go after that.”
Kath and Janet, who are members of community cycle group Horwich Ride Social, say they believe more needs to be done if there really is going to be a focus on ensuring cyclists are safer on the road.
“I think the idea in itself is good because it is horrendous to get through the centre of Bury,” Janet says. “But I definitely don’t think it’s been well thought out in terms of the cyclists’ point of view.
“They could have put a complete cycling lane in through the town centre, but it’s just confusing. By law, you’re not supposed to go on the pavement but, once you’re out of the junction, there’s no other option really. It’s catch 22 really. “
A local resident who gave his name only as Robert said he didn’t know anyone in the area who didn’t have concerns over the junction.
“I think it’s a bit of a pain,” he explains. “I have a motorbike but I can’t see it making much of a difference to be honest with you.
“I saw an elderly lady almost get knocked over because she wasn’t sure which way to walk through it - it is a little confusing. It might be good in the long run but I think a lot of people are unhappy about it at the moment.
“Anything that focuses more on cycling rather than cars can only be a good thing and I wish we could take all the cars off the road but I’m not sure this is going to have the intended effect they think it will.”
Robert says he believes the project has taken ‘too long’ to come to fruition and also has concerns over the cost of it. “They’ve spent a lot of money on it,” he says. “I’m not sure it needed to cost them that much.”
Lewis Miles, who was walking along the road this morning, said: “It’s been a complete mess from start to finish.
“The money could have been used elsewhere, fixing potholes and things like that. I don’t think the council has been upfront about it.
“It’s complicated, and it’s caused too much traffic. It would be dangerous to people who are blind or partially sighted - we have just nearby the society for the blind building in the area.
“I’ve been coming this way for a long time, and while they’ve been doing the road works, I’ve had to cross some times in the traffic.
“I don’t think people will use the cycle lane. I’ve just been on the footpath, and one of the cyclists was using that.”
A social media post slamming the layout has generated hundreds of comments from bemused locals.
One wrote: “Absolute joke, the money spent by this Labour council is astounding!!!
“Next they will be buying bikes for everyone, I drive along this route about 4 times a day & seen more gazelles than bike riders.
Another posted: “As usual they did not think how visually impaired people might have difficulty navigating a mini labyrinth. One more unsafe crossing point to add to the list.”
A local mum agreed saying: “I didn’t see one cyclist on the road and the same back at 3pm! Waste of money and causing traffic to bottleneck from Jubilee Way into Bury centre.”
Another resident, Lee Brierley, says he believes people should give the junction a chance once it’s completed and see what happens.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Lee says. “It’s environmentally friendly, it's going to be safer for cyclists and should lead to less traffic.
“I think it’s worthwhile, it is a positive thing. I believe it’ll make things safer for the cyclists and just make the roads better all round. People should give it a go before criticising it.”
A spokesperson from Bury Council said the new junction was part of a regional development plan to help connect communities across Greater Manchester.
They said: “The works to construct the new Cyclops junction at Angouleme Way in Bury form part of the Bee Network that is being funded by Transport for Greater Manchester.
“This is a region wide initiative to improve all forms of journey by connecting communities together making it easier, safer, and more attractive for people to travel on foot or bike for everyday trips.
“This particular junction is crossed by hundreds of students every day on their way to St Gabriel’s, Bury Church and Bury Grammar schools.
“The revised layout will make it easier and safer for them to walk or cycle from one side to the other.
“The cost of the scheme is in the region of £1,000,000 and represents a significant investment by TfGM in their commitment to promote Active Travel.”
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