Consultation begins on city centre pedestrian access improvements

A consultation dedicated to improving pedestrian access in Manchester city centre will run from now until the end of January.

Better and wider pavements, more room for people, and better pedestrian crossings are just some of the planned improvements being proposed.

The consultation, which runs from Thu 11 Dec – Fri 30 Jan, will invite the public to share their thoughts on changes along Princess Street (A34) between Portland Street and Mosley Street.

This route is a key corridor for bus and foot traffic. Through the changes that are being proposed, the Council says it wants to improve pavement areas in the city centre, enabling more people to walk and wheel through the city centre, as well as giving more space for pedestrians and people waiting at bus stops.

This is the second phase of proposed improvements along a continuous route through the city centre, the planning for which began in 2024, when the council asked people for their thoughts on changes to John Dalton Street and Bridge Street.

The A34 corridor is a key transport network through the city centre. Linking Salford with Manchester, and connecting thousands of people daily to key transport hubs in St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens, as well as to the civic quarter where buildings like the Town Hall, Central Library and Manchester Art Gallery can be found.

The council’s proposed changes aim to:

• Widen the space on pavements for people to walk and wait at bus stops

• Improve and widen the pedestrian crossings at the Mosley Street junction and Portland Street junction

• Improve pedestrian crossings on narrow side streets by raising the carriageway

• Improve the aesthetic look of Princess Street by using uniformed paving materials that complement the grade listed buildings and St Peter’s Square

• Declutter and remove any unnecessary street furniture

• Add new loading bays on George Street and Faulkner Street

Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport, said: “During the first stage of our consultation on the future of the A34 – a vitally important route through the city centre – we gathered some insightful feedback from Mancunians. The message we received is that people want safer and nicer routes to walk through the city centre, and to ease crowding on the pavements when waiting to catch one of the city centre’s many buses.

“Manchester is already a great place to be, somewhere where people want to visit, work and live with clean air, and safer, greener streets. Through this scheme, we want to make it even better.

“I’d encourage people to take part in this consultation and help shape the future of our city centre.”

For more detail on the consultation and to take part, click here.