Future bright for £5m Oldham-Tameside bridge

The right decision.

Fantastic infrastructure investment for the North West!

What a complete and utter waste of £5m – a bridge that can’t carry anything heavier than a push bike!!!

Anyone with a forward vision would know that this alignment is part of the old Ashton to Oldham railway and that any new investment should anticipate a Metrolink line between the two towns – I know – lets have a fancy conference in a museum to talk about it!

That’s a lot of money to save cyclists peddling up hill!
I know there are other things in the project, but it’s still a lot of money. I’m sure there are other schemes in Ashton and Oldham that would give a greater benefit.

Spend it on the Coliseum, a far more important project, than another cheap infrastructure project for the North. If it was a tram line, or something worthwhile, instead it is just another cycle lane, to go with all the other cycle lanes, three people a day use.

Great investment in walking and cycling in this part of the world, where connections are poor,

This is a bridge for pedestrians *and* cyclists, not just cyclists.

This is fantastic, well done to the local authorities on pushing this with a wider vision rather than widening roads which just creates bottlenecks further down the road.
To the objectors, this is the equivalent of providing a new by-pass for pedestrians and cyclists. £5m might sound a lot but it’s a damn sight cheaper than a new by-pass for cars.

Also, to the objectors that should know better, this is a bridge being built in order to encourage as well as accommodate existing users. This is a sustainable solution for future generations and just because you think few people cycle, that’s because there is currently very little infrastructure in Manchester to accommodate cyclists.
Slinging mud at people who choose not to drive, despite the fact they are one less car in your traffic jam, is getting very tired and you only need to look at the fatality statistics alone to determine which mode of travel should be allocated funding.

You’re part of a progressive city region. Embrace it or continue to be bitter.

Forget the cycle and walk everywhere idea,its not going to happen.spend OUR money on repairing the roads.

This bridge is hideous and not needed. The disruption to people who use Parkbridge, dog walkers, Horse riders, walkers and cyclists will be immense not to mention the disturbance to local wildlife

Something that doesn’t benefit motorists, shock, horror!!!

A great idea – although a Metrolink route along the old railway alignment would have been even better – why not both? Think Big! The Oldham Coliseum issue has nothing to do with the bridge funding – The theatre has lost its Arts Council Grant, nothing to do with Oldham Council

The reality is that the majority of the existing footpaths and bridleways in the Oldham area are in a very poor and sometimes dangerous state of repair – a network that is many hundreds of times greater than what is proposed here with this Northern Roots idea and which serves many hundreds of times more people than this fanciful scheme will ever do. It is virtually impossible to get a few pounds spent on repairs let alone improvements, the Rights of Way officer and department has disappeared into obscurity and never respond to attempted contact. Just because an amount of Public money is available from central government does not mean that it should be spent or rather wasted on this pet project that someone has dreamed up. Common sense is something that is very much absent in Oldham council on all matters and has been for many years.

They should leave the area alone. People like it because its a natural environment full of wildlife etc. Sticking a massive nasty looking bridge right through the middle of it will spoil it.
You can guarantee it will end up being a hotspot for antisocial behaviour too.