Masterplan
Will Hayter
SITE ANALYSIS:
Landscapes of motorised terrain
Assessing the tribulations of Chester Road through mapping movement through the area
Cars
Public Transport
Cyclists
Pedestrians
KEY:
A map at 1:500 exploring the various routes people take into and around the site and the surrounding area within Stretford. As you can see, the roads are occupied by cars, and through result of neglected public space and bad urban planning, this has isolated the pedestrian. The impact of the volume of traffic within Chester Road suggests that the pedestrians have become subject to the cars, further exacerbated by the blocking off of the subways used to cross the roads safely.
The Inconvenient Truth
Chester road is one of the busiest roads within Manchester, and it is also the most dangerous; to help strive for a solution, I want to examine the ways in which Stretford is catered for the car and adapt that so the space is fit for a more pedestrianised way of living.
The Car vs Stretford
Interactive map exploring how people and more social forms of transport have been affected by the 6 lane highway which runs right past the Essoldo
The crossings along Chester road are catered primarily for ease of the car, with the pedestrians having to cross the road and wait for the lights 3 times just to simply reach the other side. As a result, this has led to a lot more accidents, and is an unsafe crossing, exacerbated by the filling in of the underpasses. This has led to my site being isolated from the rest of Stretford and has cut the town in two, with the walk from the Essoldo to the mall being a time consuming and overwhelming act
Whilst Stretford has a tram station which is frequently used throughout the day, the bus service is perhaps a bit more haphazard; running along the mass of chester road, it is not an encouraging site and passengers frequently have to wait for the bus. Comparatively, the Trams within Stretford are frequently used, and as a result are heavily congested at peak hours, making it a much more difficult commute which could result in more people driving to work rather than using the available public ro
The volume and speed of traffic on Chester road has led to more cyclists taking to the canal to travel, which has impacted on pedestrians using the canal as a safe space for walking/socialising, as a number of accidents have been created through high-speed cycling and wandering people who have to duck out of their way. In order to progress, a more cohesive idea which inspires cyclists to relocate to chester road, and not cause any further disturbance to those wanting a quiet walk on the canal.
The crossings along Chester road are catered primarily for ease of the car, with the pedestrians having to cross the road and wait for the lights 3 times just to simply reach the other side. As a result, this has led to a lot more accidents, and is an unsafe crossing, exacerbated by the filling in of the underpasses. This has led to my site being isolated from the rest of Stretford and has cut the town in two, with the walk from the Essoldo to the mall being a time consuming and overwhelming act
Canal Side activation
A key focus of the site is opening up the Essoldo towards the canal.
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At the moment, the canal is under-utilised, a space only frequented by cyclists and the occasional dog walker. The impact of cycling along the canal has also disrupted he pedestrian friendly idea of the route, and made it more based around the cyclists convenience rather than a tranquil space to socialise.
My project seeks to relocate the cycle lane to within Chester road, thus activating a more people-orientated canal side for Stretford.
Chester road: a personal response
A 1 minute micro documentary as a response to the intersection of Chester road and Edge lane. Due to the proximity of this intersection to my site, it is pertinent that my scheme should address the need for change within this area, focusing the intersection more on the pedestrians rather than the cars.
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I combined videos I took during a site visit with an archived documentary about the construction of the Mancunian way in an attempt to fuse the initial motorisation of the city with the lasting effects this has had on the development of Stretford; the car, once a beacon of modernity, is now instead a harbinger of danger and discomfort, thereby isolating Stretford from the canal and reducing the activity on the nearby streets. My project aims to appropriate the motorisation of Manchester into a new, more pedestrian-centric masterplan which will install a new lease of life into the area.