National Cycle Network - some paths not very good?

[NorthernDave]

Well, that's not the exact phrase they used in this article:

The Guardian: National Cycle Network has many 'crap' paths, says charity in charge.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...rk-has-many-crap-paths-says-charity-in-charge

We've discussed this on here many times before, but what is the answer?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sustrans cannot even tell you what the surfaces of their network are. So bad is their admin and ability to present the information. Needs to be minimum standards like they do for road building and compliance needs to be reported publicly. Not just width, and surface standards but also ones for accessibility, acceptable barriers, road crossings, mimi um lengths. All that fail should be struck off any that counted towards council grants.

 

[tom73]

So we ride on the road and have to work our way though and be on the look out the ever growing pot holes and crumbling road net work. Well at the same time watching our backs for the planks in the tins boxers.

So we go off road on to a highway made for cycling only to find that it's not much better than the pot hole roads we took to the cycle network to avoid in the 1st place. Even if we do find a good bit the path maybe blocked so we have to carry our bike over them.

We just can't win can we ?

 

[Drago]

Crap is quite generous.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I rarely use cycle infrastructure away from home as it is so unpredictable.

 

[tom73]

Forgive my question but as a newbie I want to check if I have this right.
National Cycle Network is it just a miss-mash of local authority paths under a united name?
Or is it a mix of local authority and Sustrans ownership with no one really taking ownership or over sight of it?

 

[fossyant]

Crap is fine if you use a MTB, thats often too smooth.... NCNs are very variable and certainly not suited to road bikes. Hybids or cross bikes with sturdy tyres as a minimun. PS note the lack of the term 'adventure bike' - its a cross bike OK. Been one of those for donkey's years.

 

[Drago]

Imagine Chris Grayling spent several years eating random meals of tarmac, paving slabs, and clay based mud. Attach wheels to him and wheel him about at random while he poops out various different surfaces. For a bit of light relief throw in the of odd random anti motorcycle obstacles so I can't push Mrs D's wheelchair down them. Then drop a tactical nuke on it, and rebuild it using digestive biscuits mortared together with prit stick, and it would still be better and more conveniently placed than the real thing.

 

[lane]

Done on the cheap obviously. The answer

Forgive my question but as a newbie I want to check if I have this right.
National Cycle Network is it just a miss-mash of local authority paths under a united name?
Or is it a mix of local authority and Sustrans ownership with no one really taking ownership or over sight of it?

I am no expert but I don't think Sustrans own any of the paths (stand to be corrected) otherwise you are spot on. Mish mash with no real ownership is just about right.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

I do have a lot of time for Sustrans and the work they do ( I don`t work for them I hasten to add). I live right on NCN 1 and have seen the upgrade in the paths over the years but sometimes they manage to shoot themselves in the foot. With Sustrans help, a small section of cycle path has been built west out of West Barns (virtually Dunbar) in East Lothian. A lovely new surface was laid except that all the man-hole covers on the stretch of path are 2/3" above the surface so you have to be wary or you`ll go arse over, er, elbow!

 

[ColinJ]

I'd like to say that there is nothing wrong with NCN 68 through Hebden Bridge ...

That Chris Froome couldn't cope with on the way up and a kamikaze downhill mountain biker with a death wish would be worried about on the way down!

 

[snorri]

Forgive my question but as a newbie I want to check if I have this right.
National Cycle Network is it just a miss-mash of local authority paths under a united name?
Or is it a mix of local authority and Sustrans ownership with no one really taking ownership or over sight of it?

It's a mix of owned and maintained (or not maintained) by the local authority or trunk road authority with a small proportion owned by Sustrans and maintained by Sustrans volunteers. Sustrans have undertaken to provide mapping of the entire NCN regardless of ownership of individual route sections.
Some route sections not owned by Sustrans, are inspected by Sustrans volunteers who report the defects they find to the appropriate authority, but these reports are usually ignored.AFAIK.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'd like to say that there is nothing wrong with NCN 68 through Hebden Bridge ...

That Chris Froome couldn't cope with on the way up and a kamikaze downhill mountain biker with a death wish would be worried about on the way down!

View attachment 438301

I like that "Unsuitable for motors" but fine for people who use muscle power. Obviously our safety isn't as important.

 

[rogerzilla]

Nearly all the off-road paths out of town are roughly surfaced and no use for road bikes or for commuting (too muddy). The town ones are glassed and you need slime tubes or Marathon Plus tyres. I wouldn't plan a route using the NCN.

 

[Andy in Germany]

[QUOTE 5438986, member: 9609"]NCN1 just south of berwick, this is a good day as it's often full of coo's
View attachment 438303

If you get into a panick with the cows, you have two options, climb over the wall to the right and dodge the trains on the east coast mainline, or, jump 100' off the cliff to the left into the north sea.[/QUOTE]

To be fair our local authority spent about 12 years alternating between insisting a very similar field (sans cliff and cows) was a cycleway and promising to surface it 'next year'. Eventually they made the worlds most expensive cycle path: 50 000 € for a gravel path 50cm wide and perhaps 300m long...