Fareham to Gosport Railway Line Extension?

[XmisterIS]

If you don't live anywhere near Fareham or Gosport, this post will be meaningless to you! My appologies.

Anyway, for those of you local'uns, last time I used the part of the old railway line that has been turned into a shared cyclepath, I noticed that the council were clearing the whole of the rest of the line that has not been tarmacked.

Does anyone know if they are planning to extend the path all the way up into Fareham?

If so, that would be great! I could get all the way down to Portsmouth via the ferry without having to spend very much time on the road.

 

[jonesy]

Might be something to do with this:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/communications/mediacentre/mediareleases.htm?newsid=311039

not a cyclepath...

 

[PBancroft]

Might be something to do with this:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/communications/mediacentre/mediareleases.htm?newsid=311039

not a cyclepath...

I give it five years before cars are allowed to use it.

 

[jonesy]

I give it five years before cars are allowed to use it.

If it is a fixed guideway, like the one at Cambridge, that will be difficult. But I haven't looked at the detailed plans. It is dissapointing however that just as the UK is about to start trials of tram-train operation, in which trams run both on conventional tracks with normal trains and then onto light rail routes, some of the more obvious routes that could have been used for this are being turned into guided busways.

 

[ufkacbln]

We have just overturned the decision, and there has been a withdrawal of the TRO to ban cycles and pedestrians from the whole length of the present cycle facility, with Police enforcement

The plan at the moment is still to ban pedestrians apart from direct access to the stops.

It is a really poorly conceived and planned project, removing the safe route to a number of schools along the whole plan (they are keeping quiet about the plan to carry straight in to Gosport), and it also misses all the population centres. It is expected that bus passengers will travel to this facility, change and get on to the guided bus then change again, rather than a single direct bus as happens at the moment.

 

[ufkacbln]

Cyclist link
And the quote banning pedestrians....

Here is a link to the latest (April 2009) newsletter

• Pedestrians: Routes for pedestrians provide links
to the surrounding neighbourhoods served by the busway.
Whilst pedestrians will be able to cross the busway
between bus stops, footways will only go as far as the
bus stops and will not continue along the busway.

 

[jonesy]

Cyclist link
And the quote banning pedestrians....

Here is a link to the latest (April 2009) newsletter

I see now that it won't be a guided busway, so is basically just a new road... I can understand why people would be worried that unauthorised vehicles will be able to get on it. Sadly this is typical of the UK, trying to get 'transit' on the cheap.

 

[XmisterIS]

I think it's a good idea to turn it into a bus lane, but I really do not agree with banning cyclists and pedestrians and I'm glad you've overturned that decision.

As for chavs in cars trying to use it, they should just stick cameras on it with plate recognition (the technology is already well established!) - and when they see a vehicle that shouldn't be there, book 'em!

it seems to me that the easiest thing to do would be to have trams on a fixed rail with plenty of voluntary stops all the way along the route (i.e. stick your hand out when you want to get on, ding the bell when you want to get off).

 

[ufkacbln]

We spent many years campaigning against the LRT because of its adverse effect on cycling (Ferry 600cycles per hour across the harbour, with the LRT replacing the Ferry they were unable to confirm any cycle carriage, but proposed 40 - 60 per hour)

We have an excellent route here taht is heavily used and ticks all the boxes - just look atthe number of kids walking / cycling along it in the mornings - yet now they are proposing to make these kids NOT walk to school and take a long detour around a busy dual carriage way and roundabout?

Hardly logical

 

[XmisterIS]

Indeed, it would be very interesting to know who actually makes these proposals/decisions - but we never find out.

I bet it's some contracted-in private logistics/planning company - people who've never been to the area in their life and just sit and make decisions based on looking at a map.

The Government/local councils are really good at setting up quango-like outfits like that, just to make sure that they are answerable to no-one. They are a shower of sh*t, the f*cking lot of them.

 

[hackbike 666]

If you don't live anywhere near Fareham or Gosport, this post will be meaningless to you! My appologies.

No apologies needed.

 

[mattybain]

We spent many years campaigning against the LRT because of its adverse effect on cycling (Ferry 600cycles per hour across the harbour, with the LRT replacing the Ferry they were unable to confirm any cycle carriage, but proposed 40 - 60 per hour)

We have an excellent route here taht is heavily used and ticks all the boxes - just look atthe number of kids walking / cycling along it in the mornings - yet now they are proposing to make these kids NOT walk to school and take a long detour around a busy dual carriage way and roundabout?

Hardly logical

There was a similar (successful) campaign in Chester against a guided busway on a disused railway line. Thankfully in the end everyone saw sense and now it is a fantastic asset to the city, a beautiful cycleway / walkway which forms part of a continuous (nicely tarmaced) off road bike path from Chester well into North Wales.

Let's hope the planners see sense here too.

 

[XmisterIS]

It's just been on the local lunchtime news, the plans for a dedicated bus lane have got the go-ahead.

Hopefully that means peds and cyclists can use it too.

 

[Bollo]

It's just been on the local lunchtime news, the plans for a dedicated bus lane have got the go-ahead.

Hopefully that means peds and cyclists can use it too.

I caught this on the evening local (presented by Sally Taylor). No mention of cycle use though, so I'd read the small print before getting overexcited.


Georgie Palmers' getting big.