Transport

A new five storey multi storey car park has opened in Blackburn town centre.

The Fielden Street Car Park is adjacent to the Waves leisure centre, King George’s Hall and Blackburn College in Feilden Street, off the new orbital route along Montague Street on the west side of town.

It can accommodate up to 512 cars and replaces the previous 100-space car park at Waves.

The new car park is a key element of the town centre strategy after many of the surface long stay car parks were lost due to the major new developments in the town.

It is open seven days a week and secure features include:

• Proximity card access
• Manned kiosk facility
• Flexible operating hours for King George’s hall events
• Barrier entrance and exit
• Coin and card payment facilities with intercom
• Full CCTV coverage on all floors
• External perimeter zoom, pan and tilt colour CCTV surveillance
• Internal lighting levels will be to British Standard meaning a safer environment.

Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration, said: “At last this key town centre car park is open. Adjacent to Waves and King George’s Hall, it is in a prime location on the side of the town centre. There is a great deal of regeneration going on in this area including the new PCT LIFT building, the college campus and the shopping areas around Northgate.

“The car park will provide a safe environment for all drivers wishing to leave their vehicles under full surveillance and is particularly welcoming following the loss of other local car parks due to redevelopment.”

Opening times

Monday to Saturday (excluding Bank Holidays) 7am til 11pm Sundays 9am to 6pm

Tariff

Mon- Sat

• Up to an hour £1.50
• Up to two hours £2.00
• Up to three hours £2.70
• Up to four hours £3.10
• Up to six hours £5.00
• Over six hours £10.00

Sun

Up to six hours £1.00

Preston’s Guild Wheel project has been given a huge boost following the news that Lancashire County Council is to invest £1.5m in the scheme.

The ambitious scheme will create a 21-mile greenway around the city which will be used by thousands of cyclists, walkers and runners each year. It is the idea of local man Peter Ward and is being led by Lancashire County Council with support from Preston City Council.

County Councillor Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “The Guild Wheel promises to be one of the best cycling routes in the country.

“Not only will it provide a more environmentally friendly way of getting around the city, it will be a place where people can take in Preston’s historic sites, keep fit and use purpose-built play facilities. The Guild Wheel will also be lined with trees and hedges attracting a variety of wildlife.

“The 2012 Guild promises to be a spectacular celebration of Preston’s history and heritage and I’m pleased to work with the city council on this scheme.”

The aim is to provide a route that can be used by people of all abilities for recreation, accessing the countryside, and getting to work and school. It will help people to lead a healthier lifestyle through exercise.

This scheme will also develop a green corridor, and bring wider environmental benefits such as an improved habitat for wildlife, upgrading play areas, and planting of trees and hedgerows.

Peter Ward, chairman of the Preston Cycling Forum, explained: “The idea is to create a fantastic cycling and walking route that thousands of people can enjoy year in, year out – a place for people to relax, exercise or just get from A to B easily no matter what their age or ability.

“I’m pleased this project is moving forward and the £1.5 funding, together with support from other partners will help make this idea a reality.”

Preston’s Guild Wheel Cycling project was launched four years ago. Although exact route details have not been finalised, the general course of the path has already been confirmed as follows:

From Avenham Park, the route will run along the river to the docks. It will then connect with the Ribble Link, running via existing cycle paths and quiet lanes to Brougton. It will then travel through the east side of the city and is likely to run via the Midgery Lane Cycle Track and Preston East Employment Area, before joining the riverside cycle path near Brockhole’s Bridge.

The route will feature a good surface with access for people with disabilities, monuments depicting Preston’s rich and diverse history and activity, adventure and play areas for children.

This is one of the many projects which will mark the 2012 Preston Guild. Preston’s Guild dates back to around 1179, when King Henry II granted the town its first royal charter, and is celebrated every 20 years. The Guild Week celebrations planned for 2012 are likely to include carnivals, processions, dances, firework displays, sporting events and much more.

Bolton’s second new multi-storey car park will open today.

The Topp Way multi-storey car park has been built in a joint project by Bolton Council and National Car Parks (NCP).

The opening follows the completion of the flagship Deane Road multi-storey car park in December.

The four-storey facility on Bath Street contains 794 spaces and it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The car park will also house Bolton’s first town centre ‘Changing Places’ facility, for profoundly disabled people. As well as a toilet it features a changing bench and a ceiling hoist, which is operated electronically and can be used to lift people. The facility, on the ground floor, will open on March 29.

The town’s Shopmobility service, currently on Le Mans Crescent, is also moving in at the end of the month.

The car park boasts green credentials with an intelligent lighting system, which ensures that lights are only switched on in parts of the car park that are in use, or where natural lighting is insufficient. There are also five charging spots for electric vehicles.

Councillor John Byrne, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Development, said: “The car park will play a significant role in supporting future developments in the town centre and should also bring in new visitors. The ground floor lobby also includes space to accommodate potential small retail outlets as a future development.”

Mike McNeil, NCP’s Bolton Manager, added: “We were delighted to team up with Bolton Council in producing this state-of-the-art parking facility. We hope the Topp Way multi-story car park with its extra facilities will offer something much more than just a place to park for work or shopping visits.”

Tariffs start at £1.40 for the first hour with a four hour stay costing £3.40. Contract parking is also available.

Construction work on new Metrolink extensions in Tameside and South Manchester has been given the green light by the Department for Transport.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan today announced the government’s full approval of plans to extend the Metrolink from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside and from Chorlton to Didsbury in South Manchester.

A further eight new trams will be ordered to serve Greater Manchester’s expanding Metrolink network, six of which will be funded by the DfT. In addition funding has also been provided for two new Park and Ride sites at Ashton Moss and Ashton West able to accommodate over 600 cars in total.

Councillor Keith Whitmore, chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA), has welcomed the news.

He said: “GMITA created the Greater Manchester Transport Fund in May 2009 to provide a public transport system that will help the economy of Greater Manchester to keep growing.

“Today’s announcement by the Minister alongside the order for an additional eight trams marks another step towards achieving our ambitions for the future of the city region’s public transport network.”

Councillor Ian Macdonald, Vice Chair of GMITA, said: “We were the first authority to bring trams back to city streets, and this announcement is testament to the success of that decision.

“Metrolink has gone from strength to strength since it opened in 1992 and I’m delighted that we’re now going to see it expanded even further.”

GMPTE will now appoint contractors for the Metrolink extensions in Tameside and South Manchester. Detailed design and preparatory works will now be carried out, and local approvals secured, with construction work starting early next year.

Both extensions are part of the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, a £1.5 billion investment programme covering 15 major transport schemes for Greater Manchester.

The new trams are additional to the 40 new vehicles which are being added to the network to serve the existing lines and the extensions to MediaCityUK, Chorlton in South Manchester, Droylsden in Tameside and the line through Oldham Mumps to Rochdale Railway Station.

Viking Hellas Airlines (www.flyviking.gr), the Greek airline associated with Viking Airlines AB of Sweden, is pleased to announce the launch of a new three-times weekly scheduled service from Manchester Airport to Athens, Greece, with effect from 1st February 2010, with convenient onward connections to three Iraqi cities.

Passengers from Northern England are set to be served with a new direct service to Athens from Manchester. With fares starting from as little as £59 one-way, inclusive of taxes and charges, Greece has never been more accessible. Current flight routes to Athens from the North West require at least one change of aircraft with other European carriers. Viking Hellas has established agreements with Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines to provide convenient connections to their Athens flight networks. This provides passengers with the opportunity to connect in Athens to and from other Greek cities, the Greek Islands, the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Also on 1st February, Viking Hellas will commence weekly scheduled services from Athens to the cities of Erbil and Sulaymanyiah in the Kurdish Government Region of Iraq and the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad. Flights are scheduled to provide seamless connections to and from Manchester services, providing passengers from the north of England with the fastest possible journey times between the north of England and Iraq. Fares from Manchester to Iraq, connecting in Athens, start from as little as £545 return, inclusive of taxes and charges.

Bolton’s free bus service will continue to offer free transport around the town centre following a successful trial period.

The Metroshuttle’s 10 minute circular route around the town centre includes a total of 12 stops, connecting the train station station via Newport Street with the bus station via Black Horse Street.

Times of operation are 9 am to 5pm.

The bus service is funded by Bolton Council and the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA). Bolton Council was the first Greater Manchester authority to introduce the Metroshuttle outside of Manchester city centre.

Motorists in Liverpool will soon be able to pay for parking using their mobile phones.

The scheme is to be piloted in 11 locations throughout Liverpool city centre and is aimed at making paying for parking simpler and more convenient.

Liverpool City Council has partnered up with BemroseBooth Mobile for the initiative which will run initially for six months. It is believed to be the first local authority in the North West to offer this type of service. The service goes live this week.

Drivers can continue to use the existing coin operated machines or pay for their parking on their mobile phone using a credit or debit card.

To use the service, people need to call 0151 203 0000, quoting the parking reference number which can be found on pay and display machines and signs around the car parks and confirm their length of stay. People can even extend their parking time by mobile phone without having to return to their vehicle. Another benefit of this service is no more coin payments or fumbling for change, and users can even get a text message reminder when parking is about to expire.

The council’s parking attendants will receive the details of the parking in real time to hand-held terminals, enabling them to check whether vehicles have -or have not – paid for parking.

People who have paid by phone need not display a ticket.

Councillor Peter Millea, Executive Member for Assets and Development, said: “We want to make it as convenient as possible for people to pay for parking and give them as wide a choice as we can.

“There will still be the option of putting coins in the pay and display machines, but increasingly people are using their mobiles for all different reasons. It means they do not need to have the right change for the parking machine and they will get alerts to let them know when their time is running out. They can even extend the time they want to park without having to rush back to put more money into the machine.”

Nick Kibel, “Phone and Pay” executive from BemroseBooth Mobile said “We are very excited to be working with Liverpool City Council on this brand new service.

“This service will help both motorists and local businesses, as any shoppers can just phone and pay for parking – which is both quick and easy, and if parking is running out they simply call and extend – so no need to rush back to the car!

“The service also makes parking safer, as there is no longer a sticker inside the vehicle indicating when the driver will be returning. As an additional benefit to all drivers, especially business users, receipts can be emailed to them automatically.”

Three rail routes in North West England are to be electrified, slashing journey times increasing reliability, and reducing pollution.

The elecrification programme, announced today by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis, includes:

• 17 miles of track between Preston and Blackpool North, allowing electric trains to run between Blackpool North and Liverpool/Manchester
• 15 miles of track between Huyton and Wigan, allowing electric trains to travel between Wigan and Liverpool, via St Helens
• 25 miles of track between Euxton (near Chorley) and Manchester, allowing electric trains to operate between Preston and Manchester, via Bolton

Electrification will also increase capacity as electrified lines can accommodate longer trains.

Liverpool City Council is offering free on and off-street car parking in the run up to Christmas.

From December 12 until Christmas street parking and on Liverpool City Council car parks will be free on weekdays between 3 pm and 8 pm.

On weekends, on and off-street parking will cost £1 for 3 hours.

Councillor Warren Bradley said: “We want to do all we can to encourage people to come to the city centre in the festive period. What we are introducing will help both shoppers and businesses and I am sure will be appreciated.”

Night-time pedestrianisation of some streets in Liverpool city centre will begin this week.

From Thursday 10 December, unauthorised vehicles will not be able to the following streets:

• Eberle Street – Access restricted 24 hours/day
• Stanley Street – Access restricted between 10pm and 6am the following morning, 7 days a week
• Cumberland Street – Access restricted between 6pm and 6am the following morning, 7 days a week

The idea behind the scheme is to boost the night-time economy in the area by encouraging greater pedestrian activity. It also supports the City Centre Movement Strategy by improving links for pedestrians and helping create a people friendly city centre. There has also been concern about the number of accidents involving pedestrians at night.

Site works has been completed to introduce hydraulic bollards which will prevent access to all unauthorised traffic during times when there are more pedestrians on these streets.

Businesses and residents in the area affected will need to apply for proximity cards, issued by 2020 Liverpool, to allow access during restricted times. All have been notified and reminded about how to apply for these cards,

The scheme has cost £268,000, with £131,000 of this being provided by a European Regional Development Fund grant.