Anti-motorbike barriers to be removed from National Cycle Network

[Inertia]

I hope it wasn't you @Inertia

me? no!

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Round here the motorbikers kick a nearby fence down. At Wombwell there's 4 foot wide custom made areas next to the bars for horses to get through.

 

[mjr]

I hope it wasn't you @Inertia

The people to describe such changes are almost never the people to do it, in my experience of some barriers where I'd say I'm about 90% certain that I know who removed them. They left others to discover them and acted surprised when told. This is quite similar to the scoundrels who erect such barriers "officially", who never seem to announce in advance that they're going to fark a route for wheelchair users, tricyclists or people with child trailers (depending on barrier type).

I wonder what made the parallel lines in the dirt. It makes me think this may have been a bit more heavy-duty than a cyclist with a hand-saw and someone who felt they had a legitimate right of access with something bigger.

 

[Drago]

The Forestry Commission have done a load of logging in our local forest. While doing so their huge machines churned up a public footpath, rendering it marginal on foot, and utterly impassable to those in a wheelchair.

I emailed them to complain, and their response was a politely worded F off. The highway authorities/landowners simply don't give a sheet.

 

[Alan O]

I have to say I'm torn on this. I use the Loop Line in Liverpool, which is part of Route 62, for cycling, walking and taking my Mum out in her wheelchair.

The only barrier that's difficult is the one at our usual entry point - it's one of those tall ones with the sides angled inwards. I can just get the wheelchair and myself through, but the chair handles often scrape the sides (and I have to be very careful with my knuckles). Different types of barriers at different points along the route take a bit of manipulation, but we can get through easily enough.

So removal would make things a bit easier for us.

But against that, I cycled along it at the weekend, through one section that has no motorcycle barriers - and it was full of kids on little loud motorbikes.

 

[Drago]

But the point is that the barriers present little obstacle to unlawful activity, while having a major impact on lawful activity.

 

[mjr]

But against that, I cycled along it at the weekend, through one section that has no motorcycle barriers - and it was full of kids on little loud motorbikes.

...which I trust you reported to the police?

I also don't see how mini motorcycles would be stopped by anything that allows a bicycle through.

 

[Alan O]

But the point is that the barriers present little obstacle to unlawful activity, while having a major impact on lawful activity.

That's a fair point in many situations. However, in this case the barrier-protected sections were free from motorbikes (and almost always are) and the unprotected areas weren't (and often aren't), so the barriers here do seem to be sufficient obstacles. The entry points are mostly quite restricted anyway, and at most of them there just isn't a way round the barriers - at my usual entry, there's strong steel fence either side of the barrier up as far as the walls/houses each side.

Of course, it's possible that were there barriers to all sections they'd find the few places where they can get round them and still use it. But I do use the whole length of the Loop Line, and motorbikes are far less of a problem now than the plague they were a few years ago - though admittedly, I don't know how much of that is down to the barriers themselves and how much down to other measures (including cycle police patrols during the summer).

My thoughts are that motorbike barriers are probably worthwhile in areas where there is a genuine problem, as there certainly was/is here in Liverpool - but used as a "one solution fits all" to the entire length of cycle routes, I think they're overkill.

 

[Alan O]

...which I trust you reported to the police?

I confess I didn't - I should have done.

I also don't see how mini motorcycles would be stopped by anything that allows a bicycle through.

There were a couple of mini bikes, and several 125cc-ish bikes. But the point was they *were* in the unprotected section and not in any protected sections.

 

[mjr]

I confess I didn't - I should have done.

There were a couple of mini bikes, and several 125cc-ish bikes. But the point was they *were* in the unprotected section and not in any protected sections.

And my point is that possibly the obstructed sections (for they are not protected by those barriers - unless you mean protected against some cycling) simply have people who give enough of a fark to report them to the police, as well as agitate for evil barriers.

 

[Inertia]

The people to describe such changes are almost never the people to do it, in my experience of some barriers where I'd say I'm about 90% certain that I know who removed them. They left others to discover them and acted surprised when told. This is quite similar to the scoundrels who erect such barriers "officially", who never seem to announce in advance that they're going to fark a route for wheelchair users, tricyclists or people with child trailers (depending on barrier type).

I wonder what made the parallel lines in the dirt. It makes me think this may have been a bit more heavy-duty than a cyclist with a hand-saw and someone who felt they had a legitimate right of access with something bigger.

I did annoy me but not enough to knock it down.

Im not sure if you would need anything too heavy duty. It looked like a solid job bu tit was just stuck into the earth. Someone had dug a big hole where one post went so once that was done Im guessing it fell apart easily.

I wondered who had done it in the first place, would a council really just erect a wooden fence like that or was it some local who built it?

 

[Alan O]

And my point is that possibly the obstructed sections (for they are not protected by those barriers - unless you mean protected against some cycling) simply have people who give enough of a fark to report them to the police, as well as agitate for evil barriers.

In many cases, yes, I think that is indeed true. There was certainly agitation here from people whose houses back on to sections of the loop line to get action to stop the motorbikes. In this case I think it was justified by the results, but I can accept there will be cases (possibly even the majority) where it isn't. For me the biggest mistake is to see barriers as a "one size fits all" solution, and there's certainly plenty of ham-fisted overuse of them.

 

[mjr]

For me the biggest mistake is to see barriers as a "one size fits all" solution, and there's certainly plenty of ham-fisted overuse of them.

Whereas for me, the biggest mistake is to see barriers as ANY sort of solution, rather than the illegal, discriminatory use-deterrent that they are. What's needed is policing, including people who report abuse to the police. Sadly, it's easy to mistakenly conclude that barriers are the reason why an area has no moto abuse, rather than the people who pushed for them, who are probably also reporting the largely-unaffected abuses.

 

[Alan O]

What's needed is policing, including people who report abuse to the police.

Well, that's where were certainly do agree - I'd much rather see effective policing (including the community, yes - the police can't do it all unaided) and no barriers anywhere. It was remiss of me not to report it at the weekend - I shall do in future.