Can you force a council to maintain a cycle path?

[ufkacbln]

The injury is the key

Write to the he Council stating that the lack of maintenance has caused an injury and ask for the latest inspection report for the point where the injury occurred

That is usually a good lead in to having it maintained

 

[KnackeredBike]

I am thinking I might endure the ire of the wife and just buy a cheap petrol lawnmower and cut it myself. Bit of cycle path vigilante-ism.

I have emailed Sustrans, I am sceptical because last time they got involved in the section immediately to the north of here they paid £41,000 in 2012 to resurface the path in fine gravel. Good for horses apparently but bloody terrible for cyclists. Needless to say it is almost as overgrown as this section now, but slippery to boot.

 

[screenman]

The summer Sustrans route here was topped up with road planning and a lot of glass, despite several phone calls they have not been able to do anything.

 

[postman]

Anyone know what the Cinder Track is like.It's the Scarborough to Whitby old railway line,Looking on out of date reports on Google it has mixed receptions.I am thinking of taking my mate with his new mountain bike ,i am worried at 73 it might be too much for him.

 

[summerdays]

Put it on Twitter whilst tagging the council....

Or a path that suffered similarly on my old commute (i started reporting it earlier and earlier each year in order to gradually shuffle to the front of the queue), but a group from a nearby office took t into their own hands and cut it back one year, and I'm sure the council improved from that year onwards.

 

[classic33]

I am thinking I might endure the ire of the wife and just buy a cheap petrol lawnmower and cut it myself. Bit of cycle path vigilante-ism.

I have emailed Sustrans, I am sceptical because last time they got involved in the section immediately to the north of here they paid £41,000 in 2012 to resurface the path in fine gravel. Good for horses apparently but bloody terrible for cyclists. Needless to say it is almost as overgrown as this section now, but slippery to boot.

Ignore the strimmer. A cheap petrol one wouldn't be up to the job. Metal blade required, not wire. Slasher(decent one) would cost around £20. Swing the thing and see how easy the hands slide down the handle. If they slide off, no stop, leave it and pick another.

Check if you'd be done for clearing it first.

 

[KnackeredBike]

Ignore the strimmer. A cheap petrol one wouldn't be up to the job. Metal blade required, not wire. Slasher(decent one) would cost around £20. Swing the thing and see how easy the hands slide down the handle. If they slide off, no stop, leave it and pick another.

Check if you'd be done for clearing it first.

Are we talking about scythes? (excuse my ignorance)

Love the idea of a scythe, I have never used a strimmer as I think scythes are much better. However, doing it on a cycle path with brambles seems to be asking for trouble because if you miss even a couple of branches you can screw up tyres.

At least with a lawnmower most/all of it can be collected.

 

[classic33]

Are we talking about scythes? (excuse my ignorance)

Love the idea of a scythe, I have never used a strimmer as I think scythes are much better. However, doing it on a cycle path with brambles seems to be asking for trouble because if you miss even a couple of branches you can screw up tyres.

At least with a lawnmower most/all of it can be collected.

A slasher, not a scythe. But if you've already got the scythe, use that.
Something like this.
View attachment 362942

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Being an ex-council worker who did regular maintenance on parts of NCN75 and I see the lads have been busy recently on some sections, two maybe three cuts per year and regular (fortnightly) industrial blowers along parts of the route.
Nip the ear of a councillor but an article in the local paper works wonders...the latter definitely works

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Ignore the strimmer. A cheap petrol one wouldn't be up to the job. Metal blade required, not wire. Slasher(decent one) would cost around £20. Swing the thing and see how easy the hands slide down the handle. If they slide off, no stop, leave it and pick another.

Check if you'd be done for clearing it first.

No, no,
no.Mr C..
I've seen a couple of horrible injuries caused by blades shattering esp in cold weather..
Bomford cutter first then a slow walk using Scag or similar machine to check for obstructions...

 

[classic33]

No, no,
no.Mr C..
I've seen a couple of horrible injuries caused by blades shattering esp in cold weather..
Bomford cutter first then a slow walk using Scag or similar machine to check for obstructions...

Machines cost too much. A scythe would have a two foot cutting blade, but lighter than a slasher.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Machines cost too much. A scythe would have a two foot cutting blade, but lighter than a slasher.

Sorry for going off topic..
Scythe, properly used beats a slash anytime..We are now going into costs, a Scag 48 could cut 5 miles of 1m wide cycle track in a morning( with Bob),
obviously, this is a track cut three times per year and a 1m barum.
For overgrown as shown(previous post), a flail or Bomford implement run down the track first.

That's with regular maintenance..

In the end, what tool you use comes down to cost and use of manpower.
Our first run down this section of NCN75 was 1st machine cut as high, next machine would follow with a slightly lower cut then a machine for the final cut. For the 5 miles (2.5 mile per side), we took just under two working days, one man blew the debris off track. Not knowing the ground slowed us down, now as I said it's a straight walk down and back for one machine.
The difference of a 1m barum takes away the enclosed feeling of the uncut section.

 

[Dirk]

The council in North Devon are pretty good at getting repairs and maintenance done when notiffied of a problem.
I just go on this council site https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/ and report anything that needs sorting.
I reported overgrown vegetation on the Tarka Trail two weeks ago and it was all cut back within 10 days. Dangerous potholes are usually sorted within a day or two.
Maybe your local council has a similar site where you can report problems?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

@Drago I might do, only thing is that any local paper article is met with "Don't pay road tax, clear it yourself", "No helmet in pictures OMG" and "Bet he jumps all the red lights on that stretch of path". I am trying to see if it can be solved without recourse to dullards.

Try writing as a concerned resident rather than a cyclist. Presumably it's used by pedestrians too, no? Explain that it restricts your use of it because walking there with your daughter ends up with her face stung by nettles and brambles. Take photos without the bike, just walking.

 

[Drago]

Disability gets them excited. Tell them you were pushing a disabled person in a wheelchair. That opens all sorts of equality and human rights regs and they'll fall over themselves to sort it.