WALK RIDE PRESTWICH & WHITEFIELD

Walk Ride PW is a campaigning and lobby group for Active Travel.

We want Prestwich and Whitefield to be places where people have high quality, safe, walking and cycling routes that they are happy to use. We see our role as being proactive and constructive, engaging other local groups, Bury Council, the Bury Walking and Cycling Forum, Transport for Greater Manchester and with politicians of all colours to provide informed local opinion on improvements to make and schemes to progress.

If you want to be involved please contact us by email: wrpw [at] walkridegm.org.uk

We are affiliated to the wider Walk Ride Greater Manchester group and support Chris Boardman’s ambitions for the Bee Network of walking and cycling routes ‘safe enough for a 12 year-old to use’ and ‘a network that would make him choose it over driving’.

Details of some of our campaigns are below, more information on the Campaigns menu tab.

Check our our facebook page and the News tab to find out more about our activities.

March 2022 Monthly update
The consultation on two options for the Heaton Park Active Neighbourhood closed on 20 March 2022. This is our response to TfGM, Bury Council and Sustrans (who are organising the consultation):

"Walk Ride Prestwich & Whitefield (WRPW) wish to record our strong support for all the measures set out in Option 2 of the March 2022 Heaton Park Active Neighbourhood Consultation.

The draft plan says "Any implementation is likely to be undertaken on a temporary (trial) basis initially". Therefore we see no reason to leave out any of the proposals and certainly not to default to the weaker Option 1 proposals. We trust you agree it is really important to try all of the Option 2 proposals, evaluate their success and not shy away from making positive moves towards a better public realm with high standard, safe pedestrian and cycle facilities.

We also want to see the Active Neighbourhood to be a high quality implementation to LTN 1/20 standards, nothing less. We feel we have to stress this as currently at the Bury New Road/ Kings Road/George Street junction Bury Council, whilst commendably positively improving pedestrian crossing facilities, is falling short for cyclists with unimaginative 'paint the road' cycle markings. It is even looking as though the Council is taking out some of the delineated cycle lane!

For the Heaton Park Active Neighbourhood we want to see safe interfaces at Bury Old Road, Heywood Road and Scholes Lane junctions for all pavement and road users. The Active Neighbourhood ethos should be clear around the boundaries and capable of expanding one day.

We are really pleased to see Heys Road identified as an enhanced walking route. WRPW would like to see future work to continue it as an east-west pedestrian and cycle friendly low-vehicular traffic route towards Prestwich centre to tie up with the regeneration of the Longfield and on to the Clough.

There are a lot of good ideas in Option 2, we hope to see them in place soon, and for more of this type of thinking across Prestwich and Whitefield!"

20 Minute Neighbourhood

No need to drive - walk or cycle to Prestwich or Whitefield centres, you might be surprised how far you can go in 20 minutes!

Schools

The school run without cars?

Bury New Road improvements

What does WRPW think of the COVID bike lane?

Heaton Park Active Travel Neighbourhood

Bury Council are consulting on an Active Travel Neighbourhood in the streets near Heaton Park. Designed well it will offer a cost-effective way of delivering safe and attractive streets for walking and cycling by preventing through traffic from using residential neighbourhoods to avoid main roads (often known as 'rat running'), while retaining local access for residents and visitors. WRPW supports the Active Neighbourhood and encourages local residents to contribute to the consultation so that it will work for them.

Unsworth-Simister-Heaton Park walking and cycling route?

Highways England plan to remodel the M60 roundabout at Simister. We want them to use some of their 'Designated Funds' money to pave and light footpaths and cycleways on existing muddy paths from Unsworth to Heaton Park.

Better Cycle Parking!

Better cycle parking is a must if people are to cycle more.
In the coming months we will be campaigning for more and improved parking and calling out poor existing facilities.