Sustrans responds to government cycling and walking investment strategy with five-year strategy of its own

Sustrans, at one time, 'appeared' to be worthwhile, promoting the use of disused railway trackbeds as ideal cycle routes but, the unwillingness to cooperate with companies and organisations, which wanted to re-open routes, was what made me realise things weren't all they seemed to be...

Where is 'sustainable transport' if Sustrans would rather have heavy traffic travelling through villages because of their uncompromising attitude?

And to think, we used to do it properly.

More shared usage paths along crap routes with appalling surfaces then.

Just some random secondary road in NL - that's the sort of standard we need

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They are more interested in providing offroad routes where families can feel safe from traffic and don't really mind that it is out of the way, only suitable for certain types of cycle and may have to dismount to get through barriers etc.

The trouble is that other road users then see these, and get narky about the fact that you're not "on the cyclepath". Sustrans have been a waste of money for a long time now.

Yes Sustrans are crap. But that is because they rely too much on council funding, and don't want to bite the hand that feeds. So they sign off on any old rubbish in order to keep councils on side, and get future grants. If they actually stood up for proper sustainable transport, it risks harming their lucrative income.

".........for both leisure and everyday utility trips"

This is the crux of the problem with sustran, as it is their priority.

They are more interested in providing offroad routes where families can feel safe from traffic and don't really mind that it is out of the way, only suitable for certain types of cycle and may have to dismount to get through barriers etc.

Which is acceptable for a certain section of the leisure cycling public, but they try an promote themselves as something else.

The strategy does talk of reviewing and improving the network. If you're involved in a local cycle campaign group or forum I suggest you contact Sustrans and let them know which bits of the network in your area are unfit for purpose. 

This feels very weak and lacks ambition.

I'd like to see them implement some modern design standards and have clear guidance on the maps on their website on which sections are suitable for what types of bikes. 

Too often, lovely tarmac'd stretches randomly change into sections only suitable for MTBs, with the only realistic diversions being on busy A roads. If you're on a road bike you're screwed. 

At the moment Sustrans as an organisation and the "NCN" just aren't fit for purpose - but they're the easy "go to" for clueless local authorities looking for planning advise. 

So more indirect, hilly, badly signed bits of poorly made gravel-surfaced tat masquerading as cycle routes. How lovely. Perhaps if some of the Sustrans "leadership" actually rode bikes it would help, because I cannot imagine any of them have seriously ridden the rubbish constructed in their name in Scotland.