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Police use speed guns to target cyclists on Bristol & Bath Railway Path

More than 15 riders caught travelling at more than 20mph on shared use path

Police using speed guns clocked more than 15 cyclists riding their bikes at over 20mph on the shared use Bristol & Bath Railway Path on Monday morning.

The operation was launched in response to concerns from some people living near the path that the speed some people ride at causes a danger to pedestrians, including schoolchildren, reports the Bristol Post.

Officers were deployed at Devon Road Bridge close to Whitehall Primary School, at a point where many children cross the path in the morning.

The path is not particularly narrow at that point, but it is straight and is a fast section if a cyclist is heading towards the centre of Bristol, because it is downhill.

Cyclists stopped by police on Monday were warned about the danger they could cause through riding at excessive speed.

PCSO Adam Needs said: “It was a great success. We spoke to more than 15 cyclists who were travelling at excessive speeds.

“One cyclist was going so fast that he fell off his bike right in front of us. I think people forget what a danger and hazard they can be to themselves and others at speeds of over 20mph.

“People have told us how busy it can be at that time of the morning and reported some very near misses.

“We want to encourage people to use the path considerately and responsibly to prevent any accidents happening.

“We got great feedback from the community on the day and lots of people said they would like to see us do the operation again.”

Local resident Vicki West told the Bristol Post: “I think it’s absolutely brilliant because I’m a cyclist and a pedestrian and I have young children who use the track.

“I think what cyclists often forget is that it is a mixed use path and there are often children going to school or older people out walking their dogs.

“Sometimes the speeds that some people are going are so bad that my three-year-old shouts ‘slow down!’

“There have been several petitions going around the neighbourhood about it and people here feel it’s an important issue so it’s great to see some proper action being taken.”

While there is no speed limit on the path, its code of conduct does point out that it is a shared use facility “used by pedestrians, disabled people and cyclists with consideration for all,” and that “everyone has equal priority.”

The code requests cyclists to “pass pedestrians and disabled people slowly and carefully, and warn them by bell or voice if they haven't seen you.”

There have been repeated calls to tackle the problem of some people riding their bikes too quickly on the 15-mile path, which was built by Sustrans between 1979 and 1986.

Earlier this year, following an incident in which a nine-year-old boy riding his bike sustained a broken collarbone when he was struck by a cyclist travelling in the opposite direction, Sustrans area manager Jon Usher said bike riders needed to curb their speed.

“Traffic-free paths are not the place for reckless speed cycling; they cater to a variety of users by providing a safe, non-threatening environment to travel in,” he said

“Unfortunately, a minority of people on bikes choose to speed as fast as they can on these routes, which makes them less safe for everyone else.”

The child’s father, Nic Delves-Broughton said: “The other cyclist was coming way too fast for the crowded conditions on that afternoon.

“It was a terrible accident and both my son and the other rider where thrown from their bikes onto the ground.

“The other cyclist was very apologetic about it.

“If that other cyclist had hit an elderly, frail person with brittle bones the consequences could be dire and even result in a death.

“Something needs to be done to keep the speed down on this particular path.”

He added: “It is a very busy path, especially on a Sunday and it is packed with young families with learner riders, dogs, the elderly and infirm and also the idiotic who are unpredictable at best.”

In September, we reported on research from University of the West of England PhD candidate Hannah Delaney that found that of 600 people surveyed while using the path, 52.3 per cent of users had experienced frustration due to the behaviour of others using it on the day they were questioned.

Addressing a conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London, Ms Delaney said: “Government guidelines for shared-use paths are based on research that focuses on the observable conflicts that take place and thus the consensus is that conflict between users is rare.

“However, this research shows that when shared path relations are examined in more detail there are a great deal of frustrations bubbling beneath the surface.

“The survey highlights the difficulty of designing facilities for a mix of mode users. The majority of cyclists would like more information and guidance provided to all users on how to share the path, whereas some pedestrians would prefer to be separated from cyclists. There was also a feeling that some cyclists need to slow down.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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91 comments

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Shades | 9 years ago
1 like

I'm on the BB Cycle Path A LOT, but rarely need to use the bit they're on about (close to Bristol), and have never seen/experienced any 'aggro', issues etc in over 5 years of use. Someone at work knows the bit in question and said it does get a bit manic, but his rant was cyclists with no lights. It's all quite simple; go 'balls out' when there's nobody about and slow down for pedestrians and other cyclists as necessary. I wish we'd stop 'pandering' to a vocal minority who constantly 'bash' it. Every time I'm on it I always think we're so lucky to have this piece of cycle infrastructure. Love those 'school mummies'; if they're not trying to muscle me off the road in their 4x4, they're trying to get me with their pitchforks on a cycle path! Great work for the 'rozzers'; tackle inner city crime - nah, lets go and nab some speeding cyclists. Another bit of cycle path I use is a thoroughfare for the mums and kids heading to/from a McDonalds. Captain Ahab hunting ground (apologies to real whales).

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Jonnypb | 9 years ago
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If you want to slow cyclists on the bristol2bath do what they did in the 80s and put gravel on it.I remember when I was twelve and cycling to bath with my friend, you would have people walking in both lanes so you wouldn't want to be going fast on gravel because trying to stop was like trying to stop on ice.Anyway the police are reactive ,not proactive.Also I thought it was called the Bristol and bath cycle way ,or has the name been changed.

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CarlosFerreiro | 9 years ago
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Another David Hembrow related piece, on how/when/where the Dutch provide separate pedestrian facilities.
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/04/is-that-shared-use-path-do-...

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ashbytaylors | 9 years ago
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Simple answer that Holland already have - don't have shared access paths - 1 for pedestrians,1 for cyclists.

That said there is one of these around Derby's Pride Park - i.e. it's solely a cycle path, yet when I've used it it is always littered with dog walkers who complain that you're cycling too fast on it and get upset that it's a path just for cyclists not pedestrians! I even had people refuse to get out my way and purposely spread out across the width of the path forcing you to take to the grass.

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hsiaolc | 9 years ago
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Problem is no all cyclists have a cycle computer or a garmin so how would they know how fast they were going?
Speed is a relative thing.

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Giles Pargiter | 9 years ago
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I haven't used that cycleway but may well be using it regularly in the near future.

Sustrans stated aim is to provide routes for cycle commuting. Commuting you notice. If you commute between Bristol and Bath for very many weeks you will soon be cruising along at 20mph - bit of wind behind you and maybe a little late and 30mph could easily be maintained - judging by that picture in the article.
We have the same problem with some of the routes here in N.Wales - great for the less confident, beginners and children, unfortunately uselless for actually getting anywhere.

It is a trunk route between cities intended (but not designed) for cycle commuting. Like the A4 then, it should have priority over all the side turnings and no chicanes gates or other obstructions and designed to safely allow cyclists to easily pass each other at 30mph; just as the A4 allows motorists to pass at 70mph.

That is if you take cycling as a serious transport option. Apparently it still isn't.

Accordingly now that it is so heavily used it should be turned into a dual carriagway with a footpath that is fenced from it. Although of course now that it is so heavily used the sensible thing would be to close a lane of the A4, which now presumably carries proportionaly less motor traffic.

Of course as a public highway the highway code applies. Keep left at all times except when overtaking, turning right or lane markings indicate otherwise. Mandatory approved lights during lighting up time etc.

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Bikeylikey | 9 years ago
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“One cyclist was going so fast that he fell off his bike right in front of us." Going fast makes you fall off your bike then? Oh no, better tell the pro teams quick, and cancel the tour de France.

I've pretty much given up riding on the Bristol-Bath path. It's too busy with walkers, dogs, children, there are bike muggers, you often get shouted and sworn at often if you just innocently try to announce your presence to walkers. Bell ringing is not advisable. I've had everything from 'all right all right, I've seen you', to 'F... off you f...ing twat', just for ringing a bell. Ruins your day if you're a sensitive flower like moi.

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exilegareth | 9 years ago
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We have a shared use path near us. When it was being planned the deaths of cyclists on the adjacent road were used as part of the business case for the shared path.
The shared path is a death trap.
Dog walkers, who don't control their dogs or use extending leads that block the entire path.
Joggers wearing headphones who can't hear a bell or a shout.
Family groups who believe it's their right to walk four abreast, blocking the entire path.
I've come to believe in a simple principle. Any road or path where users conflict at speed differentials greater than times three requires segregation. If I'm doing sixteen miles an hour I'm potentially lethal to pedestrians. Shared use paths on commuter routes are a recipe for disaster.
Oh, and, just out of interest, what power do police have to stop cyclists for a chat about their speed?

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Aileen | 9 years ago
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Would the PCOs be willing to do a similar exercise after dark stopping walkers (with & without dogs) & cyclists who use the path dressed in black with no reflective gear & no lights? I don't think they realise who invisible they are. ditto for dogs both on & off leads.

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Matt eaton | 9 years ago
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The dog issue is caused, in my opinion, by the lack of clarity about what these paths are for.

I use some areas of grassland by some playing fields when training fairly regularally and the area is also used by dog owners to excercise their animals, particualrally at the times that I ride there (in the mornings before work). Almost exclusivly the dogs are, quite reasonably, off the lead. Sometimes this causes me a 'problem' however there is really no conflict as there is a mutual understanding that we are sharing the space and have to make allowances for each other.

Due to the lack of clarity and failure to set expectations about the use of shared use paths some dog owners essentially consider them as linear parkland and treat them as such. If they assume that cyclists take the same view it's understandable that they expect us to behave as I do in my example above.

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Matt eaton replied to exilegareth | 9 years ago
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I've come to believe in a simple principle. Any road or path where users conflict at speed differentials greater than times three requires segregation. If I'm doing sixteen miles an hour I'm potentially lethal to pedestrians. Shared use paths on commuter routes are a recipe for disaster.quote]

I'm curious about this way of thinking. Presumably cycling on urban roads with a 30mph limit would be a no-no given that a cyclist may be traveling at less than 10mph (especially if climbing) or would 20mph limits have to be much more widespread? How would this sort of policy be applied to country roads/lanes? Would bikes and pedestrians be banned from roads used by motor vehicles at faster speeds?

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Exup replied to exilegareth | 9 years ago
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Totally agreed.
Comber Greenway cyclepath in Belfast is the same conflict zone.
Loose dogs are the biggest hazard, with many of their owners holding the belief that they have a god given right to block the path of the fast commuting cyclist.
If I am ever unfortunate enough to have to take avoiding action, I may be forced to use the dog owner as a soft landing zone on my way to hitting the tarmac #o. I may then have to litigate for a replacement bike and any injury claims.

There is available legislation in this part of the UK (and perhaps all UK?) to enforce dog owners to control their dogs on leads at all times in designated areas. However, the dog warden and local council (Castlereagh) won't use it to sort this high risk H&S problem.

For the record, many responsible dog owners use short leads and share the path, giving adequate space for cyclists to safely pass.

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youngoldbloke | 9 years ago
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Unfortunately these problems will only get worse as cycle use increases. It is crazy to expect what has become a popular commuter route to accomodate all comers. BTW Have you tried riding along the B2B on a fine Sunday afternoon? Victim of its own success. The utopian solution of course is a wide, dedicated, cycle only route ........

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paulrbarnard | 9 years ago
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I'm with Matt on this one. The B2B is effectively an intercity highway as far as bikes are concerned. This is a classic example of build it and they will come. The popularity of the route has made it unfit for purpose. It no longer makes sense that it is shared in the way it is. Definitely needs an upgrade, widening, segregating whatever. Perhaps it does need speed limits in the built up bits or by schools and 'national limit' on the long open stretches in the country, though to be fair some of those are a bit narrow to justify much speed.

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Airzound | 9 years ago
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Meanwhile 8-9 people were killed on the roads today. How many died on this path?

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ironmancole | 9 years ago
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Motor vehicles have dedicated routes - motorways.

Is it any wonder chaos ensues when everyone else is forced onto a wide pavement with the ever present painted line?

You have to laugh at the naivety of its 'design'  105

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
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Dogs

On

Massively

Long

Leads............................

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ironmancole | 9 years ago
1 like

Usual guff - ignore motoring slaughter whilst pointing the figure everywhere else when those not willing to subject themselves to the genocide instead look for alternative and safe routes. Cyclists are legitimate victims to cars but pedestrians should be protected from cyclists.

Perhaps every cyclist should just resign themselves to the inevitable. I'd suggest something along the lines of:

1: Buy the largest 4x4 you can, preferably amassing huge debt so you can compete in the Jeremy Clarkson game of car value being proportional to your intelligence and value as a human being.

2: Eat, sit on your back end and watch a mindless soap, preferably with a lot of arguing in it.

3: Look down on anyone using transport cheaper than yours whilst selectively ignoring anyone in a more expensive vehicle.

4: Despite loving your fellow motoring chums ensure you park your offensive mass on pavements (as you secretly know your great compatriots will smash into your pride and joy and then drive off). Get aggressive if a peasant like pedestrian has the audacity to question why you've parked on the pavement.

5: Dust off the credit card and get ready for the weekly trudge around the local retail park collecting more crap you don't need, might as well use that huge boot for something.

6: On the way make sure you use your horn, sit up the arse of anything in front of you that you can see over and berate clogged roads whilst failing to recognise they are just like you and driving the same 4x4.

7: Despite spending 50 minutes to travel 7 miles conduct a punishment pass on a vulnerable road user of your choice as they held you up for 20 seconds.

8: Trip up on the broken pavement at the retail park then berate the wisdom of local council spending.

9: Stop off with the kids at a fast food emporium 'as they're starving'.

10: Make sure you use the disabled parking bay (wider so those pesky cyclists don't dent your doors)

11: Buy a 'Baby on board' sign for the rear window. You love your pals out on the roads but somehow you still feel the need to place a public sign pleading with them to crash into someone else as your child is special.

12: Marvel at your man boobs and gut, you've worked hard for those. Make sarcastic comments at anyone in the office who shows any sign of doing anything active whilst having a set of pre-prepared stories ready about your prior athletic prime.

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fenix replied to ironmancole | 9 years ago
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Makes perfect sense to me. Don't go blitzing past pedestrians - you can damage them and yourself.

I don't see that the police are ignoring the roads at all here - but clearly there is a safety issue that needs addressing.

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tonylen | 9 years ago
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Bloody hell-its a shared use path-why would anyone want to blast past pedestrians and run the risk of injuring them or yourself ?

As I understand it the main issue is where the path nears a school-what is there to disagree with here? If the cops really are responding to anti cycling comments in the press,how about going on a charm offensive rather than all this reactionary stuff that plays right into the hands of the bike bashers?

Of course pedestrians can be unpredictable and daft -even more reason just to slow down a bit-there was life before Strava and not every commute needs to be a TT

Just show a bit of common sense !!

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Awavey replied to tonylen | 9 years ago
1 like
tonylen wrote:

Bloody hell-its a shared use path-why would anyone want to blast past pedestrians and run the risk of injuring them or yourself ?

but I suspect the vast majority of cyclists using that path do use their common sense & arent "speeding" or wilfully endangering people, there are a few idiots Im sure, a walk along the shared path on Brighton seafront shows that people always do stupid things, pedestrians included.

IME on those types of shared paths pedestrians believe anything above their own walking pace is too fast and speeding, and anything that overtakes them that they werent expecting or hadnt seen, is passing them too close, as its the shock factor almost of having a big adult sized lump on a big bike pass them, the cyclist is nowhere near them and has planned a route around them safely as we know collisions hurt, but still the pedestrian is shocked/surprised/unprepared that their perception is that was too fast and too close.

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sooper6 | 9 years ago
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Its worth reading David Hembrow's article about shared use paths.
http://tinyurl.com/l6n877u

In their code of conduct, Sustrans point out themselves that their paths "aren’t suitable for high speeds" and suggest that "if you wish to travel quickly [...] this is better done on quiet roads". For all their claims about having provided a network of cycling infrastructure, they're actually admitting that this network is not suitable for cycling.

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bdsl replied to sooper6 | 9 years ago
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Yes, I was going to post a link to that same article on A View From The Cycle Path. I thought it was very persuasive. Perhaps there should be a second path on this Bristol-Bath route so that one can be dedicated to walkers and one to cyclists.

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fukawitribe replied to sooper6 | 9 years ago
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sooper6 wrote:

Its worth reading David Hembrow's article about shared use paths.
http://tinyurl.com/l6n877u

In their code of conduct, Sustrans point out themselves that their paths "aren’t suitable for high speeds" and suggest that "if you wish to travel quickly [...] this is better done on quiet roads". For all their claims about having provided a network of cycling infrastructure, they're actually admitting that this network is not suitable for cycling.

I thought you just pointed out that they're admitting that this network is not suitable for high speed - that's rather different unless you ridiculously over-stretch Hembrows comment about speed and perception.

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Matt eaton replied to fukawitribe | 9 years ago
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fukawitribe wrote:
sooper6 wrote:

Its worth reading David Hembrow's article about shared use paths.
http://tinyurl.com/l6n877u

In their code of conduct, Sustrans point out themselves that their paths "aren’t suitable for high speeds" and suggest that "if you wish to travel quickly [...] this is better done on quiet roads". For all their claims about having provided a network of cycling infrastructure, they're actually admitting that this network is not suitable for cycling.

I thought you just pointed out that they're admitting that this network is not suitable for high speed - that's rather different unless you ridiculously over-stretch Hembrows comment about speed and perception.

It all depends what you call 'high speed'. SusTrans seem to place this somewhere in the low teens from what I understand and this would be very different from my description.

To be fit-for-purpose I believe that any segregated infrastructure should offer the opportunity for users to make their journeys in a similar time that they would on the road, ideally faster. It's OK for maximum speeds to be lower but if someone averages 18mph on the road they need to be able to do the same on a segregted path (assuming similar distances are involved). Segregated infrastructure that is slower than the current integrated provision is a retrograde step.

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fukawitribe replied to Matt eaton | 9 years ago
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Matt eaton wrote:

Segregated infrastructure that is slower than the current integrated provision is a retrograde step.

I wouldn't call extra, segregated infrastructure that may involve slowing down in part or whole from time to time, retrograde. Not ideal, nor even particularly appealing to some (myself included on some paths), but hardly retrograde surely ?

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oozaveared replied to sooper6 | 9 years ago
0 likes
sooper6 wrote:

Its worth reading David Hembrow's article about shared use paths.
http://tinyurl.com/l6n877u

In their code of conduct, Sustrans point out themselves that their paths "aren’t suitable for high speeds" and suggest that "if you wish to travel quickly [...] this is better done on quiet roads". For all their claims about having provided a network of cycling infrastructure, they're actually admitting that this network is not suitable for cycling.

There is a fantastic national and internationa network that connects pretty much everywhere with everywhere else and if you want to travel efficiently and quickly on a bike it's ideal. It's called the road system.

If you find that too scary because of fast moving traffic and decide to use a shared use path instead then you've become the faster moving traffic. And then some people come over all Jeremy Clarkson "get out of my way I'm coming through" You'd think some people could join the dots in their own arguments.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to oozaveared | 9 years ago
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oozaveared wrote:

There is a fantastic national and internationa network that connects pretty much everywhere with everywhere else and if you want to travel efficiently and quickly on a bike it's ideal. It's called the road system.

Yeah, but to misquote 2001 "My God, its full of cars"

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to sooper6 | 9 years ago
0 likes
sooper6 wrote:

Its worth reading David Hembrow's article about shared use paths.
http://tinyurl.com/l6n877u

In their code of conduct, Sustrans point out themselves that their paths "aren’t suitable for high speeds" and suggest that "if you wish to travel quickly [...] this is better done on quiet roads". For all their claims about having provided a network of cycling infrastructure, they're actually admitting that this network is not suitable for cycling.

Definitely this.
I certainly don't think its acceptable to go so fast on a path used by pedestrians - but then that just emphasises the path isn't meeting people's needs. Clearly some cyclists want to actually travel at cycling speeds.

Put in a proper high-speed path for cyclists who actually want to go somewhere and forget the shared-use nonsense.
I really don't understand what Sustrans' objectives are.

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matheson | 9 years ago
1 like

For shared paths if everyone kept to the left - just like when we're in our wheeled tin boxes - most of the "problems" would go away. Plus keeping to the left is handy to get drummed in to kids for when they venture onto roads.
From daily experience it's the "middle of the path" brigade that are the pests, especially the one with earphones in cranked up to 11.

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