Edinburgh cyclist injured by clothes line strung across cycle path

Regardless of the whereabouts, the issue is there are idiots out there who do this. Catch them, beat them, remove a finger, they are vermin.

Had Edinburgh's old railway lines been used instead as routes for the tram network, things might be different. A lot of cyclists in the city avoid the cycleways that are old railway lines because of the risk of mugging and because of the smashed glass strewn across them at frequent intervals. Putting the trams along the old rail lines would've cost significantly less than building them along the roads. And with no tram lines on city centre streets, things would be a lot safer for cyclists.

How would you design a path that can avoid this sort of thing though? If you're scared even of small rural roads because of this thing, surely there's no-way that (in your mind) a route could be safe from this without eiher srong street lighting along the whole route or a total lack of trees and signposts within 20m of the margins?

Nothing new here I'm afraid, I've heard stories of this sort of thing happening on canal towpaths too.

Personally I steer clear of this sort of cycle path as well as any isolated rural roads at night. Good lights and more major traffic routes are safest in my view. I'm not someone who scares too easily but these sort of attacks are pretty much impossible to deal with and the consequences can be severe.

I think that this sort of thing could be considered a major oversight in the design of a lot of our cycle infrastructure, including on-road NCN routes. They are all designed with a utopian mindset of blissfully pottering along in the sunshine all the time. Night-time safety doesn't seem to even be on the agenda.

Did anyone else read this and think, the 27 yr old female doesn't want to be named......ok....then read on.

Her boyfriend Alex Robertson.....

So if you know an Alex Robertson with a 27 yr old girlfriend, that cycles....can't be that many in Edinburgh fitting that exact description

I've used that path and know people who stll do. It is of concern.

I know that path and have used it. Certainly makes you think about using cycle paths at night.

I think this is more or less attempted murder- bet the useless police will do nothing about it and if by some miracle it ever makes it to the judicial system the perpetrators will get a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.

We've had a couple of those recently in Exeter.

A female jogger was caught by one and very nearly died.

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Jogger-killed-rope-tied-bridge-fac...

“In other news, a pedestrian collided with a mugger's knife" - there, see how ridiculous that sounds?

This isn't a road traffic collision, this is premeditated assault.

Yeah I bet they'll catch them right away! I mean the police could at least act like they'll take it seriously.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police are investigating following an incident that happened around 18:30 on Monday where a cyclist collided with a rope that had been placed across a cycle path in the Davidson's Mains area of the city.

Collided. Taking it seriously then