The Rich List

[Irwell]

OK, it's not quite what you'd expect, but hey, nor is Sarah Tower! This thread was inspired by a thread in the London section. You have multiple billions to spend improving Manchester. What would you spend it on?

• Expanded Metrolink to cover all urban centres in the conurbation.
• Underground motorways linking to the M60 on either side, providing easier access to the centre.
• Totally pedestrianised city centre with free central tram journeys.
• Park and ride stations in all urban centres.
• Co-ordinated and high quality street lighting and furniture. No more cheap lamp posts or barriers.
• Urban park from the city centre to the Quays, following the Irwell and the ship canal.
• Tree lined boulevards leading up to the town hall.
• An entirely Manchester-based national television station, radio station and newspaper.
• Manchester History Museum, dedicated to all the things that make this city great, not just individual museums for some aspects.
• Reclad of many ugly 60s buildings.
• Buy out most Starbucks/Caffe Nero/McDonalds/Subway shops and offer them to local independent on reduced leases.
• Bye bye to Lizzie House!

Far from exhaustive though... How would YOU improve the city?

[The Longford]

Free jet pacs for everyone.

[Irwell]

Originally Posted by The Longford

Free jet pacs for everyone.

Is that a big two fingers to the environment then Longchops?

[Mez]

All of the people's favourites plus+++


-Fallowfield Loop reopens with trams
-Underground line down Oxford rd that links east and west with fallowfield loop.
-Maglev to Liverpool
-World class developments at Salford quays and Sportscity.
-Geneva type fountain at the quays too
-All the crappy warehouses in the Irk Valley bulldozed to leave a huge City central Park
-Alter the city boundaries to reflect the true extent of the City of Manchester.
-Re-open Belle Vue
-Introce the law- Lettering=Death, a slow painful death.
-Manchester F1

[Mez]

Oh, and finaly get this built.

image hosted on flickr

[Ephemera]

I would personally put it in the bank and use the interest for year on year capital investment on small but important projects (like a couple of new schools and a few hundred social houses) every year, forever.

However, that may be a little boring, so here's a more interesting list:

- More public transport: underground, trams, buses, anything. It makes the city cleaner and safer, and allows the poor to be more geographically mobile.
- Reducing class sizes so that disadvantaged people can have access to a decent education and become net contributers to the city instead of a burden.
- Health programmes that reduces health inequalities instead of waiting til people are already too sick.
- Promotion of social housing as an antidote to the growing class of rentiers, whose only motive is income and who only succeed in overdeveloping land and stunting communities.
- Free adult education (including income support for those who attend education) so that the population becomes and remains relevantly skilled.
- Care plans for the elderly that allow them to stay in their own homes while receiving adequate physical, mental and social care.


...wait, this list is boring too. Isn't it? Sorry.

I know...wheely shoes for all? It'ld be fantastic if nothing else, and might even solve the transport problems. Just imagine thousands of commuters wheeling their way back to the suburbs...

[Isaac Newell]

Divorce the city of Manchester from the rest of the region and reduce it to roughly the inner ring road.

Free the new City of Manchester from the planning process, give it a special status within the conurbation.

Disband the PTE and allow local authorities to creat their own mini PTE's, for example a North East Manchester PTE or a City and North East Manchester PTE etc.

Infrastructurally speaking, a Motorway connecting the M61 to the M58.
The closure of Victoria station to all trains and trams and relocate platforms to a new station north of the road bridge next to the Green Quarter. Develop the land behind the Victoria facade.
Knock down the Mancunian Way, replace it with a very wide avenue with dive unders at major crossroads. Allow development along it with very little planning controls.
Doubledeck the Mayfield to Castlefield railway viaduct, build the curve. Connect one end of Mayfield Station to the viaduct turning it from a stub end to a through station.

[kids]

Originally Posted by Ephemera

I know...wheely shoes for all? It'ld be fantastic if nothing else, and might even solve the transport problems. Just imagine thousands of commuters wheeling their way back to the suburbs...

You could have 'gentle slope lanes', one going either way.

- I'd expand the tram network an all that, going underground in the city centre, and down oxford road.

- Then i'd re do piccadilly gardens like this:



Demolishing piccadilly plaza, opening up china town to the bustle of the gardens.

- I'd knock down everything in the retail quarter/every large retail building barr the triangle and replace it with something like this, but linear and double/treble leveled - like a precinct.



- I'd stick a park slap band in the middle of the adelphi/irwell riverside area of Salford, linking it to chapel st with a wide boulevard.

- Reintergrate the waterways into the city somehow.

- Build high density residential districts up to about here:



Some other stuff.

[Ephemera]

Originally Posted by Isaac Newell

...

Free the new City of Manchester from the planning process, give it a special status within the conurbation.

...

Yeah?



Yeah!

[kids]

And just for Isaac, I'd build a wall around this and elevate the entire area somehow. Like a tuscan village.

[monkey_rat]

re-pave the city centre streets...a lot of them are that nasty tarmac with white stones in which looks rubbish and cheap.

[Isaac Newell]

I don't think you would end up with Kowloon's walled city, after all Kowloon is not within the central business district of it's city.

[Ephemera]

Originally Posted by Isaac Newell

I don't think you would end up with Kowloon's walled city, after all Kowloon is not within the central business district of it's city.

Of course not, I'm sure landowners would develop the city centre in a sensitive and responsible manner.











After all, their main motive is to improve the amenity of an area for the benefit of all.











Estne?














Chapel Wharf.

[Isaac Newell]

You forgot to mention Canary Wharf which looks worse than anything that may or may not get built in Manchester, however it pulls in the punters and makes people want to build someting nicer to compete with it so you end up with the Gherkin.

One day they may even knock it all down and build something nicer on site.

[The Longford]

I'd build a fucking massive statue
...........of me
..............with my cock out
................on the site of the Town Hall
...................that i would have demolished
........................with a big golden wrecking ball
..........and jet pacs.


No disrespect but this thread is wank!

[kids]

any other ideas?

[Sir Miles Platting]

A giant M in the middle, lit up. Like McDonalds only it would stand for Manchester, no wait a minute--TWO giant MM's that stand for Modern Manchester hang on I forgot the 'O' so it should be OMM. Plus giant speakers either side blaring out "Original, Modern, Manchester" with that guys voice that says it off Radio Manchester, whatsisname oh yeah....Max Beasley.

Are we up our own arses or what....

[Sir Miles Platting]

Originally Posted by Sir Miles Platting

A giant M in the middle, lit up. Like McDonalds only it would stand for Manchester, no wait a minute--TWO giant MM's that stand for Modern Manchester hang on I forgot the 'O' so it should be OMM. Plus giant speakers either side blaring out "Original, Modern, Manchester" with that guys voice that says it off Radio Manchester, whatsisname oh yeah....Max Beasley.

Are we up our own arses or what....

I forgot the jet packs....

[kids]

I used to be taught by Max Beasley's brother.

[Sir Miles Platting]

Originally Posted by Kids in the riot

I used to be taught by Max Beasley's brother.

Now let me guess kidda....hmmm....it was either jazz drumming or hotel management....