Bolton opens new CYCLOPS junction, nine more set to be delivered in 2021

The ‘UK’s second’ CYCLOPS (Cycle Optimised Protected Signals) junction has opened in Bolton.

Following the launch of the UK’s first CYCLOPS junction in Royce Road, Manchester in July 2020, the Bolton junction is part of a wider £7.6 million scheme designed to deliver a more integrated network in Bolton town centre.

The CYCLOPS design separates people travelling on foot and by bike from motor traffic, reducing the possibility of collisions or conflict. People on foot can also get where they need to be in fewer stages and with more space to wait than most junctions.

The other CYCLOPS junctions being delivered this year in the UK are:

– Trafford Road, Salford: six CYCLOPS junctions are being delivered as part of Salford’s Trafford Road scheme. This scheme also features one mile of new footway level cycle track, a parallel walking route, and eight bus stop bypasses
– Stretford Road, Manchester: set to be completed during 2021, this is the second CYCLOPS junction to be delivered as part of the Chorlton to Manchester cycling and walking route
– Angouleme Way/Market Street, Bury: the CYCLOPS junction work is underway and set to be delivered by summer 2021
– Arbury, Cambridge: the first CYCLOPS junction outside Greater Manchester, work will begin in February and is set to be completed by summer 2021

Several other cities from across the UK have also expressed significant interest in the design, including Newcastle and Lancashire.

The CYCLOPS design won a Brake vision zero leaders award in November 2020 and has also attracted global interest with enquiries from Nuremberg in Germany, Bern in Switzerland, Michigan in the USA, Ottawa in Canada and Dublin in Ireland.

“The CYCLOPS design is going to fundamentally change the way we do junctions,” said Greater Manchester’s walking and cycling commissioner Chris Boardman. “The experience for people travelling on foot and by bike is so vastly improved. Junctions are traditionally the most intimidating place for people not travelling in a car but this design turns that on its head, making once-scary local trips now an absolute joy.

“I’m so proud of the fact that this is Greater Manchester-designed and that we have built the very first ones here too. It’s massively exciting to hear about the buzz across the globe.”

Bolton Council’s executive cabinet member for highways and transport, councillor Stuart Haslam, added: “It is great that the work on the innovative CYCLOPS junction is now complete. It is part of a package of improvements which we are delivering in Bolton town centre to make travel easier and safer for everyone.

“Motorists will benefit from reduced journey times, pedestrians will find it easier to cross this busy section of road and it is also better for cyclists whether they are turning at the junction or going straight ahead. The road and pavement surfaces at the junction are also much improved. It is a truly original design which gives consideration to all road users, and will make it easier for us all to get around.”

The new Bolton CYCLOPS junction forms part of the Salford Bolton Network Improvement Programme (SBNI), a Local Growth Deal funded programme which is managed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Work on the second Bolton CYCLOPS junction at Trinity Street/Manchester Road/Bradshawgate will begin in June and will be completed in spring 2022.

Since the launch of the first CYCLOPS junction at Manchester’s Royce Road last year, the junction has seen over 36,000 journeys take place by people on bikes.

Read the January issue of BikeBiz below: