Manchester: cycling utopia?

Buried in this article from this week's Cycling Weekly is the stat that Manchester has seen an increase in cycling to work of 25 per cent between 2001 and 2011.
Can't argue with that can you? Well, maybe.
I'm always a bit skeptical of statistics presented in percentages - maybe its working in PR makes you cynical about these things.
The real questions relating to 25 per cent are: from what number did the count start and how does Manchester compare to other cities.
More broadly than that, is there a coherent plan to sustain the growth and, if there is, what objectives is that plan moving toward. Put another way, what does a successful cycling strategy for Manchester look like and how will its success be measured. 
You can find TfGM's Interim Cycling Strategy here on the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign website - there's even a picture of Manchester's most famous cyclist on page 33. The Interim strategy sets out the city's vision for cycling.

Interim: always tends to be a bit shite

Interim suggests that this strategy is going to be overhauled and I'm pretty sure consultation is on-going although there's no reference to this on the City Council's website.
There are many bold words and a series of targets in the document as I'm sure you'd imagine but I think we all know that the result will be slow, incremental change backed up with headline figured like 25 per cent increase which make it seem like we live in a cycling utopia.