Paths for Everyone - a new perspective - review of Sustrans GC Conference

In September the Sustrans Volunteer Group Coordinators conferences took place in York and Reading.  I took the chance to go to the northern event in my home city of York.  These events are very useful for networking and I'd not had the chance to do this with volunteers from Yorkshire and the North East much.

Micklegate Bar - York

The event took place a short walk from York Station so it saved me the anxiety of trying to book my bike onto the train.  In order to make the trip as cost effective as possible I'd booked split tickets from Burton to Chesterfield and Chesterfield to York due to subsidies through Yorkshire. The reservation system was on the blink but fortunately this didn't cause a problem. Thankfully the train was on time and delivered me to York in a relaxed state on a nice late summer day.

The event itself was well attended with rangers mainly from the north, including Merseyside, Leeds, Tyneside, Northumberland and Scotland.

The notable part of the presentations was a talk by Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans.  One of the main themes was to show how important the volunteers are to an organisation like Sustrans and several examples were given.  Mention was made of the recent £21 million given to Sustrans to develop parts of the National Cycle Network and some of the adverse feedback given.  Whilst it is only a small fraction of the amount needed for the whole network it is still a significant figure.

The theme that everybody wanted to hear about was the update on the upgrade of the National Cycle Network - known as Paths for Everyone.    There was an update on standards required going forward and also some discussion on potential de-classification of sections that are classified as poor.  I'm sure there will be more on this particular subject going forward.

The latest update on paths for everyone can be found here.

The other part of Paths for Everyone is ensuring that the network is accessible for all and this involves the removal of barriers from the routes.  There are 16000 in total, so this is a significant challenge.  The first of the workshops attended dug a little deeper into this topic and provided some new perspectives.

A local company called Get Cycling had been invited to show some mobility bikes, whilst a member of the ramblers association brought a tramper along.  The introduction to the workshop was given by Jim who explained the aims of Get Cycling and in particular his own personal story of wanting to be able to take his son cycling but needing adapted equipment to be able to do so.  You can learn a lot more about Get Cycling by clicking here.

The bikes are bought in places like the Netherlands and Germany and refurbished and sold at lower prices than new.  One of the key points that Jim made which really resonated with me was that the speciality bikes are seen as very niche in the UK but in those countries with more developed cycling infrastructure they are much more common place.  Whereas in the UK they would be used mainly for infrequent leisure trips, in other places they are part of everyday life and a necessary part of getting around.

We were encouraged to use the bikes and the tramper to get an idea of how they handle and we were given an insight into adaptations specifically made for certain disabilities.  The point was also made about bikes being an important aid to mobility in general - and how poor infrastructure and barriers in particular can be critical - not all users can lift bikes over obstacles.

The day also featured discussions on successful led rides, attracting funding for small projects and the day ended with a nice social walk around York.

Back in Swadlincote, fresh with inspiration I revisited an area of concern on one of the new developments that will be part of NCN 63 in the future as the network is completed.  I had noticed the installations of some inappropriate barriers and reported this to the planning department at South Derbyshire District Council.  The barriers were so close together that it was only possible to get a bike through - even a normal sized wheelchair or a double buggy would have struggled to pass.  To be fair, although the barriers are still there, they have been amended and are not so ridiculous tight.  The funny part, as the picture shows, is that one set of the barriers are easily passable to the side.

See how close the barriers were!

Whilst the issue has been resolved to some extent it is concerning that new sections of NCN created through development feature these obstacles that are clearly not in the new vision.  Clearly, some form of best design practice needs to be communicated and implemented in order for the NCN to truly be considered as paths for everyone.