'It took me 25 minutes to drive half a mile on Manchester's chaos corridor - it's ridiculous'

-Credit:Manchester Evening News
-Credit:Manchester Evening News


The sound of honking horns are ringing in my ears, taxi drivers are cutting up skirting the pavement and I've been stuck at the same set of traffic lights for four consecutive green lights without being able to budge an inch.

This is not rush hour in Manchester city centre - it's just a normal, mid-week afternoon at 3.30pm. But the queues and stationary traffic is already ridiculous.

Those familiar with Manchester can probably guess exactly where I am - yep I'm stuck on Deansgate, trying to navigate my way out of the city centre. My journey began at the car park behind Kendals and required me to get down to the Mancunian Way.

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It's a route of around 1,000 yards, or half a mile. But as I'm about to find out, I'll navigate that distance at a snail's pace.

There has been congestion on this section of road, and the surrounding routes like Quay Street, for months now. It has become Manchester's chaos corridor.

It's all part of Manchester Council's plan to turn Deansgate into a one-way southbound route for motorists from the Kendals junction. The remaining carriageway has been opened up for the city's keen cyclists, or as I like to call it, the Deliveroo superhighway.

The scheme caused utter car chaos over the Christmas period, as the MEN reported on at the time, with festive events in the city being partially blamed for the congestion. But as we reported on Friday, the huge queues are still continuing into the new year much to the dismay of residents and businesses.

I got to experience it for myself on Thursday afternoon, even though I thought I'd be safely out of any kind of traffic jam starting my car just before 3.30pm from King Street West. I sail through the first crossroads at John Dalton Street without much of a hold up, but then the wait starts. And I wait and wait.

A lone cyclist is seen on the new cycle lane, as traffic queues in a single lane down Deansgate -Credit:Manchester Evening News
A lone cyclist is seen on the new cycle lane, as traffic queues in a single lane down Deansgate -Credit:Manchester Evening News

I finally crawl down towards the crossroads at Quay Street and Peter Street and that's where the chaos really begins. Taxis start scraping past me to try and get down the side streets, or to jump the queue to try and get through the lights here.

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I wonder why they're even bothering at first, but when I eventually get to the front of the queue, and realise you can't get through even when the light is on green because its bumper-to-bumper up ahead, I sort of get it. There's a constant whine of beeps soundtracking this whole sorry experience, as Manchester motorists let their horns express their disgust at the situation.

After waiting at FOUR turns to green on the lights here, I finally make it across the junction onto the final leg of Deansgate, the bit that has most recently turned into a one way street. I get to sit and watch as a sum total of, erm, not one cyclist uses the vast, empty cycle lane next to me.

Anyway, as I continue to chug slowly on, after a 25 minute motorised meander along Deansgate, I can hardly believe my eyes as I see the digi boards telling me that next week it's actually going to get even worse than this. Because, yes, they're going to add a further layer of confusion to this corridor of chaos.

Signs warn of a new road closure at the end of Deansgate for the next four weeks -Credit:Manchester Evening News
Signs warn of a new road closure at the end of Deansgate for the next four weeks -Credit:Manchester Evening News

For the next four weeks they're going to be closing Chester Road at the Bridgewater viaduct. For those drivers who manage to negotiate the rest of Deansgate from Monday you'll be forced to turn left (along with all the traffic coming the other way) onto the single lane Deansgate Locks.

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Funnily enough, the council are saying "avoid the area if you can". Which is all fine and dandy if you can avoid it. But what about those who work here? Or for all the businesses down Deansgate, including plenty of bars and restaurants, who need their punters to flood in, preferably on time for their bookings and most certainly not to "avoid the area."

It's all just so frustrating. I mean, just look at the design of this whole thing, the strange "street furniture" of unattractive bollards carving up what was once Manchester's most recognisable thoroughfare.

The council is saying we all need to patient as the scheme is still being worked on, and won't be complete until the Spring.

Traffic chaos on Quay Street pictured this week on Wednesday, January 22 -Credit:UGC
Traffic chaos on Quay Street pictured this week on Wednesday, January 22 -Credit:UGC

But I genuinely can't see how the completion of this work is going to look any better, or ease the flow of traffic in any way shape or form either.

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It's quite clear the powers that be don't want us driving into the city centre at all, and yes, I do understand the long term environmental reasons for this. But for pity's sake you have to get the public transport right before you can expect the thousands of us who need to head into town for work or leisure to ditch the motors first.

I know there are big, bold plans to get to grips with the rail and buses in Manchester to create a fully sustainable network of public transport options - but surely THIS is what we should have been investing on before carving up all the city centre roads like this?

Instead, we've had Deansgate train station closed at weekend nights over the hectic Christmas period (when we were being told not to drive in). Oh and the prospect of Oxford Road train station closing for TWO YEARS in 2029 in the latest "are you actually kidding me news" this week.

I've been travelling into Manchester for the past 20-odd years for work and evening functions, and I always used to come in by train. But over the past couple of years it feels almost inevitable that if I get a train into town of an evening, my last train home will be cancelled.

Christmas, and traffic, on Deansgate -Credit:Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News
Christmas, and traffic, on Deansgate -Credit:Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News

So where does that leave me? There's no bus route to where I live so it means shelling out £60 or more for a taxi home.

It's just not a price I'm willing or able to pay on a regular basis and it does influence my plans on where I choose to spend my time when not required to be in the city centre for work. If that's happening to me, it will be happening to hundreds, perhaps thousands of others out there.

And the long term impact for Manchester? It means people changing plans, working elsewhere, meeting elsewhere, investing their money elsewhere - to me it means Manchester losing out.

I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong - and to see a wonderful, flourishing, cyclist-packed Deansgate in years to come. I just worry for how long the businesses currently along here can ride the storm (and the chaos) out for until then.

What the council has to say about it

I asked the council for comment about the concerns over the congestion and long term goals for the Deansgate project. A spokesperson said: "The works in Deansgate are entering their final stage after they were first announced in July last year.

“We are grateful for the patience shown by residents and motorists as these important upgrades to our city centre infrastructure are made. As with any major project there will always be some level of disruption and we have done our utmost to mitigate any negative impact, in particular during especially busy periods as were seen during the Christmas period.

“This scheme is part of our wider ambition to change the way we view our relationship with cars in the city centre. Further up Deansgate, from Blackfriars Street, we have seen the positive impact changes to the layout of the road can have, with more space being given over to residents and businesses rather than vehicles. This is the kind of success we want to replicate along the entire length of Deansgate.

"We also know that public transport is key to providing alternatives to travelling via car which is why we remain entirely supportive of the work being carried out by TfGM to provide even better transport links across Manchester. This is an ongoing process and change will not happen over night, but we believe this is the best way to ensure there is lasting and meaningful change in our city.

"As these works enter their end stage we would again ask people to plan their journeys in advance and try to avoid peak travel times, or if this is not possible allow more time when entering and exiting the city centre."