Active Travel Policy in Greater Manchester

How it works and what to do about it

This guide explains how active travel is governed in Greater Manchester, so you can contact authorities with knowledge and confidence in what you’re saying.

We’ll update it from time to time – if you spot any mistakes, omissions, or have any questions, please leave a comment or drop us an e-mail

Contents

1. “The Big Three” key design standards
2. Local Authorities
3. The Mayor, GMCA and TfGM
4. National Government

The Big Three

If you take nothing else away from this, the three documents most useful for our campaigners to familiarise themselves with are:

1. The Streets For All Design Guide published by TfGM. Any new highways scheme, anywhere in the city region, should be planned in line with this guidance which all ten GM boroughs have approved at committee.
2. LTN 1/20 published by the Department for Transport. This guidance sets standards for cycling infrastructure.
3. Inclusive Mobility published by the Department for Transport. This is about accessible transport, particularly for disabled pedestrians.

Some authorities will say these documents are “just guidance” and they aren’t legally obliged to comply with them. This is essentially true, but if someone is injured, or discriminated against under the Equality Act, as a result of an authority not following the guidance, the authority may find it very difficult to defend themselves against legal action.

Who builds and maintains walking & cycling routes?

Most walking, wheeling and cycling happens on Highways i.e. publicly maintained roads.  The term “Highway” usually means the entire width of the road including cycle lanes and pavements.

Pretty much everything on our Highways (except “Strategic Roads” like motorways, managed by Highways England) is planned and controlled by councils, also known as Local Authorities (LAs).  In Greater Manchester this means the ten borough councils: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford & Wigan.

The day-to-day work of planning, maintaining and designing infrastructure is done by officers employed in each council’s Highways team. The council’s elected members – your local councillors – don’t design anything themselves but they can influence what parts of the network are prioritised. Significant projects generally have to be approved by a committee of councillors before going ahead; committees are usually led by councillors from the party holding the most elected seats.

This means one of the best things you can do as a campaigner – apart from directly encouraging family and friends to try walking, wheeling and cycling their short journeys – is speak to your elected local councillors. Meet with them in person if possible, and try to be friendly & positive about working together to enable better transport options for residents.

Find your local councillor:
Bolton | Bury | Manchester | Oldham | Rochdale
Salford | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Wigan

You probably also walk or cycle on Public Rights of Way (PRoWs) e.g. footpaths and bridleways, which are often on private land and maintained by the landowner.  PRoWs are recorded by the council on a Definitive Map, showing where they are and what type. Problems should be reported to the local authority’s PRoW officer(s). You might also use permissive paths, which are open to the public at the discretion of the landowner – unlike a PRoW, their permission can in theory be revoked at any time.

Your local authority may have published active travel / walking and cycling / accessible infrastructure policies which it is worth getting familiar with.  If you can point councils to their own local policy that might be more effective than quoting regional or national guidance.  

The Pathway Approach

When dealing with a local authority consider how committed they are to active travel – adjust your approach accordingly. Our friends at London Cycling Campaign have produced a useful guide to what they call the “Pathway” approach. Authorities in GM are generally at step 2 or 3.

Local Authority Walking & Cycling Pages
Bolton | Bury | Manchester | Oldham | Rochdale
Salford | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Wigan

So what does Andy Burnham do?

Andy Burnham is the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. Along with the leaders of the 10 councils (including Salford’s City Mayor), he jointly leads Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).  GMCA has strategic responsibility for transport across Greater Manchester and manages and makes decisions about how national funding for active travel is allocated between schemes proposed by councils. However, they do not have any direct control of what happens in each borough once funding is allocated.

GMCA is set to agree a new Trailblazer devolution deal with the government.  This deal means, instead of “ringfenced” funding for active travel, Greater Manchester will receive all its transport funding in one big pot which the Mayor/GMCA can allocate as they see fit between active travel, buses, Metrolink, etc. We are campaigning for £100 million per year to be spent on active travel in GM. This isn’t an unreasonable figure – TfGM already invest about £60 million per year into walking and cycling, and they recognise the pace of delivery must increase to deliver their 2040 network plan and modal shift targets.

Modal Shift is a change from one form of transportation to another, for example, switching a delivery van for an e-cargo bike. TfGM sets targets for the proportion of future journeys taken by walking, cycling and public transport – they call this target the “Right Mix”.

Dame Sarah Storey is Andy Burnham’s appointed Active Travel Commissioner in charge of leading GMCA’s Active Travel strategy and policies. This role was previously filled by Chris Boardman who coined the term “Bee Network” for a proposed walking & cycling network connecting all of Greater Manchester. Where Chris’ vision focused on low-traffic areas linked by crossings over main roads, Dame Sarah’s plan puts more importance on bus & cycle priority along main roads. Walk Ride GM supports both!

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the executive arm of GMCA and is responsible for running GM’s transport services including promoting and supporting a shift to active travel. They are also a key partner in Rail North and Transport for the North. TfGM control:

• Travel planning and timetables
• Bus stations and transport interchanges
• Traffic lights and crossing signals
• Hired Starling bikes (aka Beryl Bikes or Bee Bikes)
• Metrolink trams
• Some buses – GMCA are in the process of taking over management of GM’s buses, which are still operated by private companies but now franchised under yellow Bee Network branding. All buses across GM will be refranchised by January 2025.
• School Streets programme

TfGM have rebranded as “Bee Network” and use this name to refer to the entire public transport network under their control, as well as active travel.

GMCA are quite good on active travel policy.  A member of the Walk Ride GM Steering Group is invited to their Walking and Cycling Co-ordination & Advisory Group (WACCAG) which takes place several times a year.

The Bee Network Committee is a joint committee of GMCA, the GM Mayor and the 10 GM local authorities and was established to scrutinise and make decisions about transport policy across GM. It is responsible for monitoring Bee Network performance and providing oversight of TfGM. The Bee Network is Greater Manchester’s vision for the delivery of the emerging fully-integrated, London-style transport system – including buses, trams, cycling and walking infrastructure and cycle hire.

Signal and crossing timings
TfGM operate the central signalling and traffic management centre, controlling all lights and signals to keep traffic flowing.

In highways terminology, “traffic” refers to all road users: pedestrians, horses, and vehicles including cycles.  Highways engineers’ main duties are to guard public safety & facilitate the flow of traffic – not just motor traffic!

This means if you find yourself waiting unreasonably long at any signalised crossing or junction in Greater Manchester – report it here and there’s a good chance it will get fixed with no need to contact your local authority.

Among other things, GMCA are also responsible for overseeing Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

GMCA Links
Dame Sarah Storey’s Refreshed Active Travel Vision, 2023
GM Transport Strategy 2040 & Five Year Delivery Plan (update due soon)
Streets for All Strategy, 2021 and Streets For All Design Guide, 2024

National Government

The government are responsible for setting national policy, published and controlled via the Department for Transport. Heidi Alexander is the current Secretary of State for Transport.

Active Travel England is the government’s executive agency responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England.

The national vision/strategy for active travel was set by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a 2020 document called Gear Change. Successive governments have failed to reach the same level of ambition.

In August 2024, the then Labour transport secretary Louise Haigh promised “unprecedented funding” for active travel, but this did not materialise in that year’s autumn budget. National investment in walking and cycling remains lower than it was in 2020 and this is part of the reason why cycling levels have fallen nationally. It’s worth noting that in places with high quality protected infrastructure, cycling levels have risen and continue to rise even now.

Nevertheless, Boris’ government successfully oversaw the creation of Active Travel England, a new body within the DfT led by Chris Boardman and Brian Deegan (who previously worked together in Greater Manchester to create the original Bee Network).

UK transport funding is allocated to authorities in part based on documents they must produce called a Local Transport Plan (LTP) and Local Implementation Plan (LIP).

The Greater Manchester boroughs’ collective LTP is called the GM Transport Strategy 2040. TfGM are working on a new update of this strategy and Walk Ride have been asked to contribute feedback – please join our Discord if you’d like to be part of this.

The Strategic Roads Network (all motorways and some large A-roads) are nationally planned, maintained and managed by Highways England.

National Policy Links
Active travel:
Inclusive Mobility
Gear Change, 2020
Gear Change – One Year On, 2021
LTN 1/20, 2020
Scheme review tools, Active Travel England, 2024

Highways generally:
Manual for Streets 1 (for residential streets)
Manual for Streets 2 (for busy streets)
Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (for Strategic Roads like motorways and dual carriageways)
The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, 2016 (for signage and road markings)

Bad news:
👎 “Plan for Drivers”, 2024 👎

Non-government entities

British Cycling – not to be confused with Cycling UK, British Cycling are the national body representing cycling for sport, fitness and racing.

Cycling UK – the UK’s national cycling charity. Cycling UK was founded in 1878 and was called the Cyclists’ Touring Club until 2016 when they decided to widen their scope and focus on charitable activity, particularly activity for adults who are new or newly returning to cycling. They also lobby government to support cycling and active travel, and produce really good briefings on frequently-raised topics like helmets. Cycling UK receives grants from Active Travel England, Sport England and other partners, as well as raising funds through donations and memberships. These funds are used to support volunteer-led clubs, rides, bike maintenance and other activities. Their membership benefits are geared towards cycle touring, commuting, utility cycling and leisure riding.

Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP) is a member-led organisation run by and for disabled people across Greater Manchester. Founded in 1985, it champions the Social Model of Disability, rejecting a charity-based approach in favour of rights, equity, and self-determination. GMCDP campaigns for independent living, accessibility, and social justice, and plays a leading role in local policy through initiatives like the Greater Manchester Disabled People’s Panel. It also maintains a growing archive of disability activism and provides peer-led support, training, and advocacy, with all full members and staff being disabled people.

Living Streets – previously known as the Pedestrian Association, Living Streets are a national charity campaigning for more liveable, walkable streets and neighbourhoods.

Ramblers – another national walkers’ organisation, the Ramblers have historically campaigned on access to countryside and public rights of way. They were involved in the founding of the UK’s National Parks.

Wheels for All is a UK‑wide charity dedicated to inclusive cycling. Their vision is a world where anyone with a disability or long‑term health condition can enjoy the empowerment and joy of cycling. They have over 50 sites offering inclusive cycling sessions, including several in GM, provide specialist cycles, and support community engagement programs.

Wheels for Wellbeing is a London‑based charity focused on helping disabled people of all ages and abilities access cycling. Their work also includes campaigning on national transport issues and supporting equity in cycling access for Disabled people #ActiveTravel #MobilityJustice

Coming Soon:

• TfGM design review, and Road Safety Audits – who enforces quality of highways schemes?
• Barriers and accessibility – if it can stop a motorbike, it will also unlawfully restrict disabled people’s access
• Legality of vehicles obstructing cycle lanes

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