GM Cycle Maps supporting information
Source: data.gov.uk (2022-09-03)

GM Cycle Routes. Cycle routes in Greater Manchester, including on-road, off-road, and canal towpaths and National Cycle Network routes.  Data provided by the GM local authorities.  The dataset is available in MapInfo .tab, Google .kmz, and ESRI .shp file formats.

This cycle map data has been collated from a number of different sources by Transport for Greater Manchester and cannot be guaranteed to be fully correct.

Please acknowledge the source of this information using the following attribution statement: 

Contains Transport for Greater Manchester data. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2022.

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GM Cycle Map Data – Supporting Information (September 2022) 
 
1 
Background 
1.1 
This information note accompanies Transport for Greater Manchester’s 
cycle map data released at: 
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/gm-cycle-routes 
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/gm-cycle-hubs 
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/gm-cycle-lockers 
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/gm-cycle-parking 
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/cycle-shops 
1.2 
See the following sections for information on: 
 Copyright and licence details; 
 File formats; 
 Known issues and limitations;  
 Data updates; and 
 Data specification. 
1.3 
Please email xxx@xxx.xx if you have any enquiries or feedback 
about the data or this documentation. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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2 
Copyright and licence details 
2.1 
This free dataset is released under the Open Government Licence (OGL), 
a copy of which can be found here: 
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-
licence/version/3/  
2.2 
Please acknowledge the source of this information using the following 
attribution statement:  
Contains Transport for Greater Manchester data.  Contains OS data © 
Crown copyright and database right 2022. 
 
3 
File formats 
3.1 
The dataset is available in a choice of file formats, including: 
 .kml (Google Earth) 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole_Markup_Language  
 .tab (MapInfo) 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MapInfo_TAB_format 
 .shp (ESRI ArcGIS) 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapefile 
3.2 
NB: The download files have been zipped to reduce file sizes. 
3.3 
Email us if you would like to request data in a format not listed here. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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4 
Known issues and limitations 
4.1 
Transport for Greater Manchester would be interested to hear of any 
data errors that you come across. 
4.2 
The cycle route, cycle parking, and cycle shop datasets have been 
collated from a number of different sources by Transport for Greater 
Manchester and cannot be guaranteed to be fully correct. 
 
5 
Data updates 
5.1 
The cycle shops dataset was last published in November 2018, and is no 
longer being updated.  At the time of writing, Transport for Greater 
Manchester aims to update the other datasets once a year. 
5.2 
Recent updates have been published in: 
 March 2013 
 February 2014 
 June 2015 
 June 2016 
 July 2017 
 November 2018 
 September 2022 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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6 
Data specification 
6.1 
Cycle Routes 
6.1.1 
Cycle routes in Greater Manchester, including on-road, off-road, and 
canal towpaths and National Cycle Network routes.  Data provided by the 
GM local authorities. 
Field name
Description
ID
Non-unique item identification number
RouteType
Nature of route:
1 (yellow) = On-road Quiet routes. Routes recommended by the Local 
Authorities, which appear only on maps or brochures (not included in this 
version). 
2 (orange) = On-road Advisory Routes. Routes along roads with directions 
signs as minimum level of infrastructure. A.k.a. recommended signed 
routes. 
3 (red) = On-road routes with cycling facilities, e.g. cycle lanes and / or 
advanced stop lines at signals. 
4 (green) = Segregated cycle lanes / Shared Use Footways adjacent to the 
carriageway. 
5 (brown or green) = Traffic-free routes, e.g. converted railway line. 
6 (blue dotted) = Canal towpaths - cycling permitted. 
7 (blue dotted) = Canal towpaths – cycling permitted with permit. 
8 (pink dotted) = Canal towpaths – cycling prohibited. 
9 (black dotted) = Footpaths - cycling prohibited (e.g. footbridges across 
motorways). Use of these can however prevent long detours. 
10 (light pink) = Vehicle Access Track – poor surface. 
11 (blue solid) = On-road route – with physical segregation e.g. armadillos. 
RouteStatus
Status of Route:
1 = Vague idea or concept 
2 = Potential route with relatively firm alignment 
3 = Route open for use 
RouteSurface
Nature of route surface:
1 (brown) = Very rough unpaved surface, suitable for mountain bike use 
only. 
2 (green) = Rougher unpaved surfaces, that may get muddy after rain. 
3 (green) = All-weather surface. 
NCNRoute
Is route part of National Cycle Network?
1 = Route is not part of National Cycle Network (NCN) 
2 = Route is part of NCN National network 
3 = Route is part of NCN Regional network 
NCNRouteNumber
National or Regional route number:
0 = Not part of NCN 
1+ = National or Regional route number 
Notes
Notes or comments: 
Use to describe any new entries (this field is blank for all original 2006 
entries). 
Use any of following descriptions: 
Amended: Any existing route which has been amended or corrected due to 

 
 
 
 
 
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previous error or incorrect mapping.
Extended: Any existing route which has been lengthened e.g. an on-road 
section which is extended to the next junction. 
New: Any new route which has not previously been entered. 
Upgraded: Any route which has a surface upgrade e.g. from advisory to 
advisory signed or from advisory signed to on road. 
Date updated
Date of entry of new/amended route: Month and year which route was 
added or amended 
Strategic_route
-
Mand_Advis
Cycle Route – mandatory or advisory: Where applicable, the type of cycle 
route (M/A). 
Recovery_status
REDUCE_HGWY
REDUCE_FTWY
Tranche
length
Length in metres
 
6.2 
Cycle Hubs 
Field name
Description
ID
Not used
Hub_Name
Name of the cycle hub location
Easting
OSGB eastings coordinate
Northing
OSGB northings coordinate
Capacity
The total number of cycle spaces available at the hub 
Open_Mon_Fri
Weekday opening hours – displayed as 24hr with no spaces
Open_Sat
Saturday opening hours – displayed as 24hr with no spaces
Open_Sun
Sunday opening hours – displayed as 24hr with no spaces
Lockers
Are lockers available at this hub (Y/N)
Showers
Are shower facilities available at this hub (Y/N)
Membership
Name of organisation which handles membership
Description
Terms of membership / instructions to printers
District
Council district the hub is located in
Hotlink
Website pathname to membership details
OPEN
Has the hub opened yet (Y/N)
WGS84_Longitude
Longitude in WGS84 projection (only in CSV format file)
WGS84_Latitude
Latitude in WGS84 projection (only in CSV format file)
 
6.3 
Cycle Lockers 
6.3.1 
Most but not necessarily all lockers are in the Bike Locker Users' Club. 
Field name
Description
ID
Cross-reference to public transport node ID
Location
Place name, e.g. name of station, stop, etc.
Location_Category
Type of location, e.g. Rail Station, Interchange, Metrolink Stop, Bus station

 
 
 
 
 
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Type
BLUC = Bike Locker Users Club locker
Other = non-BLUC locker 
NumberOfLockers
Number of lockers available at this site
Notes
Additional location info, platform or Stand number etc.
Date
Month and year of entry of new/amended data
 
6.4 
Cycle Parking 
6.4.1 
This data includes the location of cycle stands (e.g. Sheffield Stands) 
which are generally on-street. Locations where there are only one or two 
stands have not been recorded. All data comes from the Local 
Authorities. 
Field name
Description
ID
Non-unique record identifier provided by district/university etc.
Type
Description of type of cycle parking, e.g. Sheffield Stand, Wheel Racks, Wall 
Hoops, Toast racks, other. 
Notes
Extra information about parking, e.g. description of location, unique features
No_of_Stands
Number of stands
No_of_Spaces
Number of cycles able to park here (Sheffield stands can hold two cycles per 
stand, e.g. 4 stands = 8 spaces) 
Sheltered
Y = Stands are covered, may only be a canopy
N = Stands are exposed 
Updated
Month and year of entry/addition/deletion
Perm_Temp
PROP = proposed (not yet built)
Tranche
 
6.5 
Bike Shops 
6.5.1 
This data came from a desktop study in 2011. Updates have been 
provided by Local Authorities when the paper cycle map has been 
updated. This data was last revised in 2018, and is not up-to-date as bike 
shops frequently open and close. 
Field name
Description
ID
Not used
Shop_name
Name of the shop
Addr1
First part of the address
Addr2
Remainder of the address
TelephoneNo
Shop phone number
Website
Shop website
Description
Comments
District
Council district the shop is located in
Date_Updated
Month and year last edited