Transport solutions in such areas should maintain and preferably enhance their rural character.
Appropriate public transport in rural areas is a key objective of the
accessibility strategy. We will continue to look to use Rural Bus Challenge and Rural Bus Subsidy Grant funding to provide services in
isolated
communities in a bid to access education, health and employment facilities. This will be done with a mixture of mainstream bus services
and demand responsive schemes, including shared
taxis. Particular attention will be given to informing the community and visitors to the area of public transport options.
Comparatively low patronage in rural areas makes investment in
rail difficult to justify in terms of rate of return. Community railway partnerships around Greater Manchester have been initiated
to explore ways that rural/semi-rural stations can be improved and maintained.
GMPTE has used Rural Bus Challenge funding to improve facilities for
rail-bus interchange at stations in
rural areas and to provide demand responsive services linking the rural areas with the
rail network and this will continue.
We will consider providing safe walking,
cycling and horse riding routes in rural
communities, both on the highway network and the
rights of way network in line with a key objective of the draft
rights of way improvement plan, "to improve
accessibility by ensuring the
Rights of Way Network meets the needs of all sections of the community and the rural economy, promotes social inclusion and widens choice".
Rural routes will complement similar networks in adjoining boroughs. The
Rights of Way Improvement Plan will assist in identifying improvements in rural areas for leisure as well as utilitarian purposes for all
users e.g.
pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders.
A number of National Cycle Network (NCN) routes (eg the
Trans-Pennine Trail and the Pennine Cycleway) pass through such areas in addition to more urban settings. It is proposed that NCN routes within
Greater Manchester, as described in Figure 5.1, should be substantially complete by 2011.
The emphasis over the LTP1 period on rural and semi-rural roads has been largely on the safety issue, but there is still more
to do. In LTP2,we shall be examining the scope for 'quiet lanes' and specific
maintenance policies for rural areas.
The Greater Manchester authorities will continue to work together with
neighbouring authorities in rural areas. A particular example of this is the
Peak District National Park, where the
Stockport,
Oldham and
Tameside authorities, along with a number of other authorities outside the Greater Manchester area, consider the cross-boundary implications
of transport demands- especially those for recreation in the National Park.
