9 December 24
Transport, active travel and roads

Trafford named best council for walking, wheeling and cycling!

Active travel champions! Trafford has been named the best Greater Manchester council for walking, wheeling and cycling – and that’s official!

The Council received the accolade after getting more than 60 per cent of the votes from members of the Walk Ride Greater Manchester group.

And last week the Council officially received the top award from the Walk Ride GM organisation in a heart-warming ceremony at Station South Café.

Trafford Council is totally committed to active travel – walking, wheeling and cycling – and has upgraded the borough’s infrastructure to reflect its priorities to encourage it more. The local authority has introduced a number of segregated cycle lanes, walkways and School Streets schemes – where roads are closed to vehicles during school pick up and drop off time.

Walking, wheeling or cycling is good for our health, good for our communities and good for our planet. But at the moment, many people don’t feel that these modes of travel are safe or accessible enough – even though 49% of us want to walk or wheel more, and 40% want to cycle more.

Those who voted for Trafford did so for the following reasons:

  • The political will to enable active travel to be more accessible for residents
  • Active travel schemes including cyclops junctions, segregated cycle lanes on the A56 and the public realm work completed on Kingsway
  • Being prepared to push boundaries to deliver schemes
  • The delivery of multiple School Streets schemes
  • Employing a dedicated School Streets Officer and a Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Lead

Cllr Aidan Williams, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change, said:

“This is fantastic news and congratulations to everyone involved in winning this coveted award. Trafford Council is totally committed to active travel and we have delivered a number of schemes to reflect this commitment across the borough.

"Making our roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers is our main priority and that is something we will continue to prioritise.”

Trafford was also nominated for Best Route to School Scheme (Urmston School Street), Best Completed Scheme (Kingsway), Best Proposed Scheme (A56 / Seymour Grove) and Best Activation Event.