Sustrans appeals for donations to keep National Cycle Network open this Christmas

I'm sure the volunteers do a good job, but my experience of new sustrans designed routes is poor. As others have pointed out, the organisation isn't exactly a hive of activity!

Most cycle routes near me that are any good were due to local councils and parish councils. They upgraded a section of the A14 and moved it to avoid some notorious bends, and the old section was re-used. One carriageway was made into a normal road, and the second carriageway was made into a cyclepath. The road is in a good state of repair, but the cyclepath is riddled with potholes, gravelly sections and getting narrower each year as the grass and moss creeps across it. Of course it initially had those awful a-frame restrictions at the end of each section but thankfully those have gone, but it doesn't matter now as the only people that use it are dog walkers!

I will be supporting British Cycling and Cycling UK instead.

I'm sure the volunteers do a good job, but my experience of new sustrans designed routes is poor. As others have pointed out, the organisation isn't exactly a hive of activity!

Most cycle routes near me that are any good were due to local councils and parish councils. They upgraded a section of the A14 and moved it to avoid some notorious bends, and the old section was re-used. One carriageway was made into a normal road, and the second carriageway was made into a cyclepath. The road is in a good state of repair, but the cyclepath is riddled with potholes, gravelly sections and getting narrower each year as the grass and moss creeps across it. Of course it initially had those awful a-frame restrictions at the end of each section but thankfully those have gone, but it doesn't matter now as the only people that use it are dog walkers!

I will be supporting British Cycling and Cycling UK instead.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-budget-idUKKBN13F003

just to give some context 

keep up the good work Sustrans! 

There's a path near me that I had the misfortune to use this autumn. Looked good on paper. In practice it was almost unrideable - pothole after pothole. Not a fun ride at all.

Tweeted the local sustrans and the national with my concerns several times and nobody replied.

I've had a standing order to them for 20 plus years. I think I might keep the cash in future.

The sustainability officer for Swansea council revealed to me yesterday that they allocated £44,000 for the year to improving cycling infrastructure. That's a massive 18 pence per person. And this is why we have to rely on charities tidying up cycle paths.

Don't forget taking circuitous routes (here it's 14 miles & 9 miles to the next towns by road - or 22 & 15 by NCN; 59 by road to Newcastle - 111 by NCN)... And inserting non-DDA compliant entry restricting gates that are tough to pass even with a flat bar bike...

It's not as if Sustrans actually run most of the NCN, they've for the most part designed it badly then palmed it off on the local authorities.

It's the LA's responsibility to keep them operational - which is all the more frustrating when you've got routes that go through multiple LAs each of which have a different attitude to maintainance

When was the last time volunteers and donations were used to fix roads or motorways.

The government say they want to increase the modal share of cycling, but apparently only if it doesn't cost them anything, so nothing willl change and we will still be be choked by pollution and stuck in congestion while people get fatter.

Looks like the best chance of cycling modal share increasing is if someone in power finds a magic lamp, even then it probably wouldn't come in the top 3 wishes.

I used to support them with a monthly subscription but cancelled it after a year. The only comunications I received after joining were further requests for money under a thin veneer of news about their fairly limited achievements, at least in my location. The whole organisation has the same feel as the AA or National Trust. That's not a compliment.

1. The volunteers working on these paths are wonderful examples of generous, public-spirited and thoughtful people.

2. The fact that our national cycle network exists solely because of charity, and is not centrally funded, built to be much more extensive, and maintained by professionals, is a tragedy.