On Tuesday 31 January, Walk Ride Greater Manchester hosted a Q&A session with Mayor Andy Burnham, Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey, and Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt, followed by a Walk Ride GM campaign update.
Introduced by Claire and chaired by Helen, the event attracted a sell-out crowd, with standing room only in the venue and viewers also tuning in via our live stream (see below).
After we’d set out our own successes of 2022, Dame Sarah Storey set out her goals for 2023:
DSS: We’re kicking off with the five priorities. Working on home-to-school travel. Road danger reduction plan and working towards vision zero… movement on everything is the aim for this year
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
Andy Burnham promised to pilot bicycles on trams by the end of 2023:
VE: Lessons learned from elsewhere in the country. GM is well on the journey… we want bikes on trams.
AB: by the end of this year thebikes on trams pilot will have started.
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
Andy Burnham says we’re in a transition period at the moment:
We are in a transition right now. The engrained culture in GM is car use. Our job is bigger than in London. It’s a bigger hearts and minds job here. We are leading change. Words by @AndyBurnhamGM #BeeNetworkGM
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
We asked a key question to the mayor, who won every single ward in the Greater Manchester region at the last election, and has a huge mandate to enact his manifesto – including Bee Network pledges:
Can you spend some of your political capital @AndyBurnhamGM to be braver? @helenpidd #BeeNetworkGM #WalkRide23
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
Dame Sarah Storey is keen to see school streets at the heart of active neighbourhoods:
DSS: looking at school streets as the focus of an active neighbourhood (including ANPR cameras), smaller schemes. Frustrating to see how many schemes have been shelved – let’s see how we can tweak the approach.
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
On the watered down Clean Air Zone, Burnham sees 2025 – when the bus network will be fully under TfGM control – as the time to use sticks like a Workplace Parking Levy, and not just futile carrots.
AB: we’re not turning our face away from clean air. Changing the buses is a big thing. 80% of the fleet is now up to standards.
We need to look at things like a workplace parking levy. In the past we’ve made the mistake of an upfront stick before carrot. Let’s get Bee Network in
— Walk Ride GM (@WalkRideGM) January 31, 2023
Other topics covered include Visions Zero, roadspace reallocation, enforcement against poor driver behaviour, and the removal of inaccessible barriers. You can watch the event in full here:
Many thanks to Bruntwood for use of their venue at Circle Square, and the support throughout the evening.