A council criticised for installing “discriminatory” barriers on a cycling and walking route in Bolton, apparently to prevent anti-social behaviour, has admitted no equality impact assessment was carried out pre-installation but believes it has still acted in accordance with design guidance.
The barriers appeared on Rothwell Street on a cycling and walking route, Bolton Council arguing their installation was a necessary reaction to criminality and people using the route to evade the police. However, cyclist and Bolton Active Travel Forum Technical Review Group member Dr Grahame Cooper, as well as many others, have called the council out for the inadvertent impact such barriers can have on people, particularly those with disabilities who may use an adapted cycle.
“Discriminatory” barriers (Image Credit: Dr Grahame Cooper/supplied)
“The real issue is that the barriers discriminate against people who use many types of cycle, including adapted cycles for users with disabilities, and the council’s failure to follow due process,” he told road.cc.
“The Public Sector Equality Duty, placed on public sector bodies by the Equality Act 2010, means that the council is required to assess the impact of the changes on protected groups such as disabled, elderly and pregnant people and record the reasons why the perceived need for the barrier outweighs that duty.
“They have admitted that they have not done that and there is no Equality Impact Assessment. This is particularly important if they are departing from national guidance. Before the barrier was installed, the 3.5-metre-wide path was perfectly adequate for shared cycling and walking use. Now that the barriers are in, there is conflict between the needs of people walking and cycling due to the bottleneck.”
The route has also become strewn with litter and broken glass since the barriers were installed, Dr Cooper suggesting it has created a “focal point for anti-social behaviour and littering”.
“Discriminatory” barriers (Image Credit: Dr Grahame Cooper/supplied)
However, of main concern is the inability for many cycle users to still be able to access the route. Explaining the decision to the Bolton News, Bolton Council said the barriers were introduced as a “temporary” measure to tackle “a prolonged period of anti-social behaviour and criminality”.
“People were using the route at the end of Rothwell Street to evade police officers,” a council spokesperson said.
“Working with Greater Manchester Police, the council installed the temporary barriers at the end of Rothwell Street to assist the police in tackling the anti-social behaviour which was blighting the local community.
“Installing the barriers is not an action taken lightly but there is still access for pedestrians and most cycles and it is expected that the barriers will only be a temporary measure.
“The design guidance for cycle infrastructure states that barriers should only be used if there is ‘a persistent and significant problem of antisocial moped or motorcycle access that cannot be controlled through periodic policing’ which is the case here.”
That final paragraph references the official Department for Transport guidance for local authorities regarding the design of “high-quality, safe cycle infrastructure”, but does not mention the fact that in the very next paragraph, the LTN1/20 guidance also states:
Access controls that require the cyclist to dismount or cannot accommodate the cycle design vehicle are not inclusive and should not be used
20 guidance (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
The council reportedly also confirmed that it had not carried out an equality impact assessment, a process meant to help authorities consider the potential effects of policies, and to make sure they do not discriminate or disadvantage people.
Dr Cooper also tells us he has seen the response to a Freedom of Information request, made to Greater Manchester Police, which asked the force to “provide a copy of advice or communication from 2023” with Bolton Council or relevant councillors relating to the barriers’ installation.
“Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to locate the requested information and I can confirm the information requested is not held by GMP,” the reply reportedly came.
Dame Sarah Storey, Paralympian-turned-active travel commissioner for Greater Manchester, said she would be working “with the police and local authority to find a long-term solution”. Campaign group Walk Ride Greater Manchester warned there are more than 100 similar barriers across Bolton.
Similar cycle lane-blocking barriers have been seen in locations across the country, campaigners and local riders calling on local authorities to remove them to make routes more accessible for all.
In January 2022, York City Council removed the “shameful” barriers that blocked access to a cycle route, while Stockport Council in the same year decided to backtrack on barriers installed to, as in Bolton, combat anti-social behaviour.
Back in September a cyclist in Newcastle sent a legal letter to the council to challenge the lawfulness of barriers on a National Cycle Route which prevent him from accessing the path on his recumbent.
Cyclist challenges council over barriers on popular cycle route that “discriminate against disabled people” (Alastair Fulcher) (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
Most bizarrely was the case in Milton Keynes last year which saw ultracycling legend Steve Abraham criticise the local council’s move to install bollards on a cycleway as it meant the route was no longer accessible for those using cargo bikes.
The bizarre bit comes from the fact the cargo bikes in question, used by Abraham in his work as a courier, were themselves supplied by the council.
New bollards on Milton Keynes cycle routes (Steve Abraham) (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
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Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he’s not working you’ll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he’ll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he’s a bit strange like that.
13 Comments
13 thoughts on “Under-fire council admits “discriminatory” cycle route barriers were installed without equality impact assessment”
Im still for and agasnt them
Im still for and agasnt them
We get a lot of dick heads on mopeds using such pathways as a speedway, often two or tree at a time.
But they do get in the way for the rest of us
Unfortunately, there’s no design that will stop a moped, but won’t stop a bakfiets. Even something weight sensitive, there’s considerable overlap between the weight of a light moped and a loaded cargo bike with a heavy rider.
Unless the criminals escaping from the police were using some form of vehicle more than 1,5m wide, I don’t really see the point of these barriers, because that’s the only people they’re going to stop.
“Installing the barriers is not an action taken lightly but there is still access for pedestrians and most cycles and it is expected that the barriers will only be a temporary measure.”
It appears to be a decision taken very lightly, with no reference to guidance, no Equality Impact Assessment, and no consultation with local cyclists. Seems pretty permanent to me, and if it’s only temporary, what is the permanent solution and when is it going to happen?
Someone should have a proper Someone should have a proper look at the A barriers in place at the Ancholme Valley Way trail (similar to these https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/access-barrier), I struggle passing through them, even when just running. And they are no stop whatsoever to the motocross lot, as they just go through the farm grass verge.
This is yet another example of an attempt to use a technological “solution” for a law enforcement issue. There’s always edge cases that the designers/implementers don’t anticipate and meanwhile, everyone is inconvenienced by the barriers. It snaps my cranks that people are putting time, effort and money into building hostile anti-infrastructure i.e. designs that try to prevent people doing what they want similar to the anti-homeless sleeping designs of benches and bus stops.
What’s needed is to have law enforcement deal with law enforcement issues and in this case, I’d say that a handful of plucky drone operators could easily keep an eye on the path or better yet, revert back to having a physical police presence which is a lot more expensive, but also sends a deterrent message and increases people’s perception of safety.
… What’s needed is to have law enforcement deal with law enforcement issues and in this case, I’d say that a handful of plucky drone operators could easily keep an eye on the path …
— hawkinspeter
Bloody drones taking over the airspace, think the skies are made for them, flying right past red lightsno fly zones…
Ironically, the fact that the Ironically, the fact that the barriers are now surrounded by litter and broken glass suggests that people are using them as somewhere to sit and drink.
Ironically, the fact that the barriers are now surrounded by litter and broken glass suggests that people are using them as somewhere to sit and drink.
Ironically, the fact that the barriers are now surrounded by litter and broken glass suggests that people are using them as somewhere to sit and drink.
— bensynnock
And this is why we can’t ban drink-driving, because of the unintended consequences of displacing people who can’t now (perfectly reasonably) sit and drink in their vehicles…
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture).
ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them.
As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off.
* Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle,
I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary.
There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence.
Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was.
Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment.
They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc.
Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...)
It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs.
Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)?
There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
13 thoughts on “Under-fire council admits “discriminatory” cycle route barriers were installed without equality impact assessment”
Im still for and agasnt them
Im still for and agasnt them
We get a lot of dick heads on mopeds using such pathways as a speedway, often two or tree at a time.
But they do get in the way for the rest of us
Dbloke wrote:
How will these barriers stop them?
Unfortunately, there’s no
Unfortunately, there’s no design that will stop a moped, but won’t stop a bakfiets. Even something weight sensitive, there’s considerable overlap between the weight of a light moped and a loaded cargo bike with a heavy rider.
Its ridiculous a knee jerk
Its ridiculous a knee jerk local council responses to “something must be done”
Unless the criminals escaping
Unless the criminals escaping from the police were using some form of vehicle more than 1,5m wide, I don’t really see the point of these barriers, because that’s the only people they’re going to stop.
“Installing the barriers is not an action taken lightly but there is still access for pedestrians and most cycles and it is expected that the barriers will only be a temporary measure.”
It appears to be a decision taken very lightly, with no reference to guidance, no Equality Impact Assessment, and no consultation with local cyclists. Seems pretty permanent to me, and if it’s only temporary, what is the permanent solution and when is it going to happen?
Plenty of criminal use roads
Plenty of criminal use roads to evade the police – maybe we should install barriers across those, too…?
I’ve seen people on mobility
I’ve seen people on mobility scooters taking a long time to navigate those barriers too
Someone should have a proper
Someone should have a proper look at the A barriers in place at the Ancholme Valley Way trail (similar to these https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/access-barrier), I struggle passing through them, even when just running. And they are no stop whatsoever to the motocross lot, as they just go through the farm grass verge.
This is yet another example
This is yet another example of an attempt to use a technological “solution” for a law enforcement issue. There’s always edge cases that the designers/implementers don’t anticipate and meanwhile, everyone is inconvenienced by the barriers. It snaps my cranks that people are putting time, effort and money into building hostile anti-infrastructure i.e. designs that try to prevent people doing what they want similar to the anti-homeless sleeping designs of benches and bus stops.
What’s needed is to have law enforcement deal with law enforcement issues and in this case, I’d say that a handful of plucky drone operators could easily keep an eye on the path or better yet, revert back to having a physical police presence which is a lot more expensive, but also sends a deterrent message and increases people’s perception of safety.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Bloody drones taking over the airspace, think the skies are made for them, flying right past
red lightsno fly zones…They’re a menace to vulnerable sky users!
Ironically, the fact that the
Ironically, the fact that the barriers are now surrounded by litter and broken glass suggests that people are using them as somewhere to sit and drink.
bensynnock wrote:
Don’t worry: v2 will have spikes.
bensynnock wrote:
And this is why we can’t ban drink-driving, because of the unintended consequences of displacing people who can’t now (perfectly reasonably) sit and drink in their vehicles…