As a once commuting cyclist, I more than once came to blows with Stockport Council. Once after having my front wheel wrecked by a pothole on the A6 in Heaton Chapel (they denied responsibility as "the road is regularly checked") and on other occasions to complain about half-baked traffic schemes that made things more dangerous for cyclists (e.g. the traffic islands on Woodford Road in Woodford, and the traffic calming measures in Cheadle Village). And I was once told that I was "probably committing a criminal offence" by leaning on a gate next to my bike on a footpath, by a council warden who had apparently been specifically allocated the duty of persecuting cyclists using (in any way) public footpaths. This route (known locally as Moorfield Bridleway) was a convenient way of avoiding the now dangerous Woodford Road I mentioned earlier, and was also regularly used by horse riders (although the warden apparently had no knowledge of this).
Sorry to go on a bit, but unless things have improved dramatically in recent years, expect the provision of cycle facilities to be at best half baked, and at worst non-existent. If they really cared about cyclists, they could have upgraded the route of the Fred Perry Way to make it a cross-borough cycle route, which would have been far more useful than merely linking a set of already existing public footpaths (and many road stretches) and giving it a fancy name.
Sorry to go on a bit, but unless things have improved dramatically in recent years, expect the provision of cycle facilities to be at best half baked, and at worst non-existent. If they really cared about cyclists, they could have upgraded the route of the Fred Perry Way to make it a cross-borough cycle route, which would have been far more useful than merely linking a set of already existing public footpaths (and many road stretches) and giving it a fancy name.
).
