Plans for new floating walkways in Manchester are making “significant” progress, with the team behind the CyanLines project now well underway on the first phase of route co-design and investment planning.
The CyanLines project is now well underway on the first phase building a network of paths through Manchester and Salford
The project could eventually see people walking home along the River Irwell after dining out in the city centre, using a network of brightly coloured paths that snake through Manchester and Salford’s waterways and green spaces.
First unveiled last year, the scheme is intended to reshape how people move around the city, linking parks, squares, canals, rivers and viaducts in a connected network.
Around 15 miles of routes have already been plotted across four pilot trips for the CyanLines project
Tom Bloxham, chair of property developer Urban Splash and co-founder of CyanLines, said work is “well underway” on agreeing and co-designing the first phase of routes with partners, alongside building the investment case.
The next stage, he said, is to lobby for national and international funding to help push the scheme forward.
Around 15 miles of routes have already been plotted across four pilot trips, based around Victoria station, Ancoats, St Peter’s Square and Castlefield.
Those routes have been proof-tested through public walks and accessibility checks, giving the project a more practical foundation than it had when it was first announced.
Several major organisations have signed up in support
A partnership board was appointed in June to help drive the project on, and several major organisations have signed up in support.
Those include the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester City Council, the National Trust, and private-sector developers such as Urban Splash and Renaker.
Support from the city’s leadership has also been vocal. Bev Craig, leader of Manchester council and a contender to become the region’s next mayor, said the plans are making “significant” steps forward and would bring major benefits to Manchester and beyond.
What the CyanLines routes could deliver
If completed, CyanLines would create fresh connections to Greater Manchester’s parks, rivers, canals and viaducts, while also adding new signage and app-based route guidance through Komoot.
The wider concept is not limited to walking alone either, with cycle routes, jetties for rowing boats and links around existing road bridges all appearing in concept images shared previously.
The scheme also has the potential to extend Castlefield Viaduct, where the National Trust has already turned the former railway structure into a park in the sky.
For a growing city facing congestion and pressure on public transport, the project is being pitched as a greener way to move between destinations while bringing more nature into the urban core.
What began as an ambitious concept now appears to be entering a more concrete phase, with pilot routes, partnership structures and funding work all in motion.
