Update. I'm in a Highways meeting so I bowled across and asked the Head of Highways. It's a CEC study as they admit they have no valid baseline traffic data.
Sustainable travel is my thing. Pedestrians, cycling, public transport. Our Council is extremely car-centric and has poor track record on delivering active travel options. CEC = Cheshire East Council. Green Party Member. Cycling UK local rep.
545 followers 1,047 following 2,012 posts
view profile on Bluesky
Update. I'm in a Highways meeting so I bowled across and asked the Head of Highways. It's a CEC study as they admit they have no valid baseline traffic data.
Huge traffic survey being done right across Macc. 100+ cameras installed at night. Assume it's DfT (FOI in). The conspiracy theories on FB include ULEZ, 15 minutes cities, road pricing, phone use prosecution and more. If only. Hope the results will be public. Wonder what it's actually for?
Interested to hear some more details on why you feel the installation is shoddy. They might help non professionals in opposing these things.
Bang in an FoI request.
They are virtually never raised these days as far as I can tell.
I'm sure Avi Loeb will have a paper on this?
Wales, much of London and even our neighbours in Cheshire West and Chester - but not Cheshire East which continues to ignore the evidence and bury its collective head in the sand. Enough is enough. Time for change.
I studied engineering. There was virtually no time for anything but studying at Uni. Engineering is a real course; unlike humanities courses.
FoI request submitted to see if they do any safety assessment regarding the impact on cyclists. www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/impa...
I have arranged to meet the CEC Walking and Cycling Champion in Macc in late October. Any suggestions on what I should show him?
I have submitted an FoI request asking about the large number of traffic survey cameras that have been temporarily installed in and around Macc over the last weekend. Who is the survey for and will the information be publicly available etc?
CEC doing microsurfacing. " ironworks such as gullies and manhole covers may seem lower than the surrounding surface. This is expected and does not affect their function." ...unless you are a cyclist of course.
Oxford Road in Macc. If only there was room for a cycle lane.
All true.
Having done it once I would never do it again.
You're right of course but the reality is that it's used by many to facilitate overtaking. Should have been picked up at the design stage. But it wasn't.
Stoke residents don't like their LTN. Council to consider reopening access road on 'isolated' Stoke-on-Trent estate | Local News | News | Stoke Nub News | by Jordan Edwards share.google/WV4Tz2t6H7ou...
The road is mostly single carriageway.
Here we have a newish piece of road near Macc. It's a fast road and the right turn lane can be used for drivers overtaking. I wanted to turn right on a bicycle. I had to pull into this lane and an HGV came up behind me sounding his horn. This design is potentially lethal IMHO. Scary.
What's Betty on about?
I can turn my head perfectly well.
This is the Corbyn Zultana party btw.
@left-foot-forward.bsky.social report this. But I'm not sure that a simple lottery would actually deliver the desired mix. Sounds like a flawed plan to me.
I haven't ever found anything from Subway that's even pleasant.
These suspensions need to take place instantly with the phone held as evidence in case of an appeal. Not a chance of anything like this in the UK.
Fewer than 100 signatures needed on our petition to stop airport expansion 🙌 petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71... We are nearly at the 10,000 required for a government response. Thanks everyone who has signed and shared so far. Keep it going!
Do it.
If you're in Wilmslow, do complete the Residents' Survey. If you'd like cleaner rivers, then ask the Council to work with United Utilities or take legal steps to stop sewage being poured into the local rivers. Local children and pets don't need to get sick every time they play out in the water.
Brilliant
Local Town Councillor has emailed me to tell me that the Town Council's six free bus days initiative over the summer saw a 43% increase in passengers with some suggestion that some new ones have continued to use the bus. That's good. Well done @macclesfieldtc.bsky.social
Definitely not there now. Pianos are nice but probably not high on my personal wish list for Macc Bus Station.
Really? I have never seen a piano in Macc Bus Station.
Email sent to the CEC Bus Champion to highlight the poor state of Macc Bus Station.
The bus station in Macc is open at the top (grills) so it's freezing and drafty in the winter.
Is it unreasonable to expect a bus station to have public toilets, and real time electronic passenger information these days? And maybe even some heating? Macc bus station has none of these.
I do. And that Decathlon Triban looks great. I have had several of their bikes over the years.
This has appeared outside my house. Traffic counter? Ideas.
I wonder if it will be used to catch car drivers too? 'Gamechanger' - Police looking to deploy drones to catch speeding e-bike riders | Local News | News | Crewe Nub News | by Matthew Hancock-Bruce share.google/u6l3nwIPef2U...
Will Councils actually bother? I suspect most won't.
Thanks for that!
Read this and weep. Where to even start? Massive burden compared to car injuries and deaths? Illegal vs legal e-bikes? New regulations when old regulations are perfectly clear? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Learn to ride bike sessions for adults coming up in Macc. Contact details on the poster.
Question submitted to the Police Commissioner asking him to ensure that Cheshire Police does not refer to illegal e-motorcycles as e-bikes in public communications. s-url.co/NQQlAA
Ha ha. Seems he was sacked a short while after I sent my email. I'm taking full credit obviously.
I have written to my MP about Lord Peter Mandelson. @timrocamp.bsky.social
HVM?
Here in Macc we have some pedestrian areas. They work really well apart from the drivers using them. They are badly designed and in parts, unenforceable. This photo taken at 11:46am on a weekday.
Build more roads, again. Not much evidence that it's ever a long-term solution to congestion. BBC News - Simister Island two-year motorway junction works approved - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Long shot: anybody in recent touch with Paul Burrows, son of bike design guru Mike Burrows? I’ve emailed his last known academic address, posted a letter to his last known house, and emailed likely contacts, but no luck. I’m writing Mike’s entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Manchester transport strategy: make walking the natural transport choice Manchester pavements:
The sort of commitment and leadership at officer level that CEC lacks.
Bike stolen from town centre.
"customers can come to the shop and pick up heavy stuff and put it in their car and drive off". These are imaginary customers. greenwichwire.co.uk/2025/09/05/d...
Cheshire East's public rights of way improvement plan 2011-2026 will presumably be up for review and revision if there's to be another one. Time to take a look and make a wishlist? www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/leisure,_cul...
Blimey Nano Banana is awesome. One basic photo and a very simple prompt.
Cheshire East seems to be without a Director of Governance at the moment. Not clear why.
Nick responds to news that a cyclist has been seriously injured. Zero evidence to show that his suggestions would have had any effect at all. BBC News - Cyclist remains in critical condition days after Osmotherley crash - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sustrans rebranding as the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust. Sustrans Changes Name To Walk Wheel Cycle Trust share.google/fpUgaDKnTpYu...
Garages tend to be staffed by "keen driverists".
They should be being removed and reported as part of the MOT process too.
To my horror I realise I have booked a campsite next to Clarkson's place in the Cotswolds. Interesting that the campsite makes no mention of this.
Sums up public transport really. Planning a holiday in the Cotswolds.
Unfortunately you have to sign in to read it.
How are you with tofu?
A close call.
It says something about push-and-wait crossings that people don't believe the button does anything.
Thanks for your hard work that's got the Party into a much stronger place.
I'm not a fan of cats at all but declawing them sounds horrendously cruel. I never knew it was a thing until this post.
Cheshire East is at least 2 decades behind everywhere else unfortunately.
It will be interesting to see how this goes. ‘Safe haven’ parking pilot scheme starts at two Macclesfield schools this week share.google/pfEh8d1b5nMv...
Well done! Now the real hard work begins.
I have noticed that a significant minority of people waiting to cross the road at button-operated crossing don't bother to press the button because they think "it makes no difference". I know because I have asked them.
My mate was thrilled to send each book to The British Library. I wonder what they make of this stuff?
My mate paid about £700 per book to the company that did the publishing part. They somehow retain the rights to the publishing so he has to pay them an annual fee to keep the books listed on Amazon etc. Sounds more like a liability than an inheritance to me.
I have a mate who has self published several books. He can't understand why no-one is buying them. He describes himself as an author. I doubt he's sold 20 books. There are 3 in the series. He's working on the 4th. Apparently they will be an inheritance for his children. #delusional
Oh dear. Rudyard is a canal feeder reservoir near Macc.
I have been sent copies of several people's responses to the draft CEC Active Travel Strategy. A common theme is the overarching need to reduce speed limits in all urban areas. Another is the very weak targets. Will the document change? I have my doubts.
So much better for the State Pension system. I'm surprised the Government is not promoting it.
A few days ago, Berlin opened a new stretch of urban motorway, with the stated aim to reduce congestion. Today, the stretch was temporarily closed because of too much congestion.
Interesting modern mixed use building in St Anne's. Nice design. #planning
Both of us came by train too. Obviously.
Both families here for the St Anne's kite festival
Waiting at a bus stop in Blackpool and I ran into another Cheshire Active Travel Syndicate member waiting for the same bus. #smallworld
It's a scam.
Money
Change to bike storage at Macc Station. The main rack is being replaced by a long waiting room with a small rack at the end. There's currently a temporary rack near the lifts.
When I started submitting close pass videos to Cheshire Police the responsible Officer advised me to write in each report that I was wearing hiviz, had lights front and rear and had a helmet on "because magistrates like to see that". All irrelevant of course.
Free "learn to fix your bike" event coming up in Macc. The Big Bike Revival @cyclinguk.bsky.social www.tickettailor.com/events/elovc...
Manchester 100 Bike Ride may disrupt 'wide sweep' of county | Knutsford Guardian share.google/RAHE9O2I5Ky4...
The headline could have been "cheer on hundreds of cyclists raising money for charity" but it's easier to stoke a divisive narrative.
Police ask for help regarding an assault on cyclists in Poynton. Appeal for witnesses and footage following attempted robbery | Cheshire Constabulary share.google/NTZVR49BPKkq...
Not the same account.
He's a charismatic speaker who is good at engaging some in society with simple "answers" to complex problems. And so far everyone else just seems on the back foot. I'm hoping @zackpolanski.bsky.social can change that. Big ask of course.
Congleton Town Council has some money to spend. One option is related to active travel. Let them know your priorities in their survey. Community Infrastructure Levy – Your Chance To Decide Survey share.google/2A5hHgMHaQIS...
It would be ironic if the cost of removing all the new flags and repainting the roundabouts in Macc came out of the pothole budget. And that was explicitly stated by CEC.
Excellent meeting of the Cheshire Active Travel Syndicate last night. Our speakers discussed how the Equality Act 2010 can be used to provide better access for all. In Cheshire and want to join us? DM me.
A Cheshire MP has issued this transport questionnaire. It's extremely badly designed! If Sarah Russell's your MP you might like to respond. us18.list-manage.com/survey?u=931...
Interesting move on parking. The Trafford Centre has finally noticed that free unlimited parking has unintended consequences. Trafford Centre announces major change to parking that all shoppers need to know - Manchester Evening News share.google/oTQ9CuFWtvJa...
