Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
I was on NCN route 73 in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, yesterday. The first obstacle has been there on and off for several years now; more often it's there than it isn't - even during the summer. It probably serves some kind of purpose; possibly to stop high tides flooding the footpath, but surely that makes the path unsuitable to be part of the Sustrans NCN network? There is a road nearby so it shouldn't be a big problem to divert the cycle route. Here is obstacle # 1 .....
At least the above obstacle is in an area with some street lighting, so during hours of darkness a cyclist unfamiliar with the area might stand a chance of avoiding it. Obstacle #2 concerns me a bit more, as it has just been put up recently and is in an area without any lighting:
It blends in nicely with the greyness in general of Saltcoats! This is a section of concrete pathway running alongside the main railway line. The surface has now broken up so badly in places that the council (??) have taken the cheap way out and simply put up a barrier with a "Road Closed" sign on it. The sign makes it reasonably visible approaching from the other side, but from this direction? (It is a dead end; from the south it is accessed from a cycle path which has no sign indicating any road closure ahead). I nearly missed it in the daylight, never mind darkness. The one strip of vertical (WTF!) hi-vis tape to the right isn't very helpful, really. If they had the tape, why not put it horizontally along the top beam of the gate at least?
I feel a letter of complaint to North Ayrshire Council coming on; and a letter to Sustrans to let them know too. How stupid can they get?
At least the above obstacle is in an area with some street lighting, so during hours of darkness a cyclist unfamiliar with the area might stand a chance of avoiding it. Obstacle #2 concerns me a bit more, as it has just been put up recently and is in an area without any lighting:
It blends in nicely with the greyness in general of Saltcoats! This is a section of concrete pathway running alongside the main railway line. The surface has now broken up so badly in places that the council (??) have taken the cheap way out and simply put up a barrier with a "Road Closed" sign on it. The sign makes it reasonably visible approaching from the other side, but from this direction? (It is a dead end; from the south it is accessed from a cycle path which has no sign indicating any road closure ahead). I nearly missed it in the daylight, never mind darkness. The one strip of vertical (WTF!) hi-vis tape to the right isn't very helpful, really. If they had the tape, why not put it horizontally along the top beam of the gate at least?
I feel a letter of complaint to North Ayrshire Council coming on; and a letter to Sustrans to let them know too. How stupid can they get?