A MAJOR road in Manchester city centre could be pedestrianised to stop speeding buses and cut accidents.
Manchester city council wants to ban all traffic from Cross Street during the busiest times of day.
The move comes after the Manchester Evening News set up a speed trap on the junction between Cross Street and Corporation Street and found most buses breaking a 10mph voluntary speed limit - with others breaking the 30mph speed limit.
Coun Neil Swannick, executive member for planning and environment, said: "We have had positive discussions with bus operators about the possibility of re-routing buses and closing Cross Street to traffic during the busiest period of the day."
In the past four years there have been 40 accidents at the junction between Cross Street and Market Street, with 43 casualties. Out of those, 30 involved a bus and a pedestrian. There were 29 accidents where pedestrians had walked into the road without looking.
Cars are already banned from Cross Street, but the M.E.N's speed trap revealed that many cars still use the road. The council figures recorded five accidents between a car and pedestrian. Buses, including the 50 service from East Didsbury and Kingsway and the 197 from Stockport and Longsight, both go along Cross Street and turn around at Victoria station for the return trip.
But under the new rules they would have to turn around at Albert Square, meaning shoppers heading for Market Street and the Arndale Centre would have to walk the rest of the way.
Frank Llewellyn, senior steward for the Transport and General Worker's Union at Stagecoach Manchester, said: "We understand that something has to be done about the accidents, but if there are 500 drivers going down there every day and say, 20 are speeding, why not sort out those 20 rather than blocking the whole thing off? A 10mph speed camera is the obvious answer."
clarissa.satchell@men-news.co.uk
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With regards to skittle alley (aka Cross St), why not pedestrianise? Despite the road supposedly being bus/cycle/taxi only, private cars regularly use it as a cross-town route instead of the congested Deansgate. Now the Inner Ring Road has been fully completed between Chapel Street and Regent Road, Deansgate no longer needs to be the main A56, so why not run the buses up/down Deansgate, widen the pavements (badly needed) and force unwanted, un-necessary through traffic away from the city centre?
What a good proposal...my brush with death involved a bus on Cross Street... luckily a bloke pulled me out of the way of an ongoing speeding bus.
Why should buses be allowed to use cross st/ corporation st during busy periods when we black cabs are barred from travelling down this road until 8pm at night - although it is in many cases the shortest route to victoria station from certain parts of the city causing passengers to pay upto 50% extra in fares and causing inconveniance to wheelchair using passengers who then have to be dropped off at times upto 100 + metres away from their preferred stop. Have 1 rule for all public services. Put safety first with equality.
Buses nowadays seem to have much more powerful acceleration than 20 years ago, and in Nottingham there are some drivers who use it for kicks. Accelerating towards a red light then braking sharply is commonplace, and contributes to older passengers feeling less safe at a time when the buses themselves are being adapted for the less mobile.
Id just like to point out that cars ARE NOT banned from Cross street.
Of the 2 signs giving restriction details from the Urbis end of Cross street, one has been removed alltogether and the other one has been knocked round to face the Triangle building.
Therefore there are no clear instruction not to use the road so all vehicles can use it,and they do.
Complete incompetance from Manc council, it should be paved over and shut, once the redevelopement of the Arndale is complete it would be madness not to.
quote "There were 29 accidents where pedestrians had walked into the road without looking" EXACTLY! thats the problem, you need to open your eyes before waltzing out in front of us. its a 40 metre bus, you cant miss it!.
and i wonder how many people will moan about late services cos they have to go the long way round or moan cos you have to walk further in the rain to get to a bus stop!...... pathetic
nottingham? whats it got to do with you? im sure you have enough problems in your town