At Walk Ride GM, we want to help residents to improve your area. One way to do this is setting up a local group, but if you’d prefer to focus on a smaller, street-level area, there are plenty of options available for you and your neighbours.
Sharing your positive experiences with people in your area and learning from other locals groups can really help to grow your community projects – so we’d also recommended forming a local ward-level group. You can find information on all the existing local groups here – and if there isn’t one near you yet, then we’ve provided tips on how to get started here. Or get in touch with us via our new Facebook group here.
We all want to make our neighbourhoods better – even those who are worried by change – so the ideas below are also ways to help bringing everyone along for the journey, by demonstrating the positive change in real life.
School Streets, Play Streets and Quiet Streets
School streets and quiet streets using a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) are great ways to show people how much more pleasant our neighbourhoods can be as a low-traffic or car-free space, while also bringing the community together.
How do you arrange to change your street from permitting fast through traffic to being access-only?
The ten boroughs of Greater Manchester provide information on how to apply for a temporary quiet street, play street or school street for a one-off event or defined period of time. The Government provides advice here.
For example, Manchester City Council has also announced its play streets scheme, which is designed to encourage “more of our residents from all parts of the city to come together to close the road or street where they live to help children’s play”.
School Streets and Playing Out are great resources for information on how to create your own school or play street.
Click the links below to find out how to do this in your area.
Bolton / Bury / Manchester / Oldham / Rochdale / Salford / Stockport / Tameside / Trafford / Wigan
And here are some contact details and alternative routes to bringing this to life in your area:
Manchester– contact neighbourhood team
Oldham – email active.travel@oldham.gov.uk
Rochdale – try Road Safety, Active Travel or Neighbourhood teams or ask your local councillor
Salford – go through the Play Street route https://contactus.salford.gov.
Stockport – https://www.stockport.gov.uk/
Tameside – try Road Safety, Active Travel or Neighbourhood teams or ask your local councillor
Trafford – email traffordtraffic@amey.co.uk
Wigan – Road Safety Team at road.safety@wigan.gov.uk
How have other areas in Greater Manchester made their streets safer through temporary or permanent filtering?
The following case studies show how reclaiming our streets has helped to improve neighbourhoods in the region:
Wilbraham Road, Chorlton – Great Get Together 2019 – reviewed here
York Avenue, Whalley Range – Play Street August 2020 – reviewed here