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canal-83039_1280Canal and River Trust urge cyclists to stay below 8mph on towpaths
The Canal and River Trust is urging cyclists to 'Stay Kind, Slow Down' and will be encouraging riders to stay below 8mph.
A speed tracker will be trialled on canal towpaths in the West Midlands and Staffordshire to encourage cyclists on the shared use paths to slow down.
The device will be set up so anyone cycling below 8mph will get a 'Thank You' message while faster cyclists will be told to '#StayKindSlowDown'.
The automated signs will be trialled by the waterways and wellbeing charity for a month in Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Coventry, along with Stone in Staffordshire, The Express and Star report.
Gavin Passmore, community engagement manager at Canal & River Trust, said: "We know that our canals played a crucial role during lockdown for exercise and wellbeing.
"This was particularly important in urban areas where many people don't have back gardens, as people stayed local and discovered these amazing wildlife corridors on their doorstep
"We want people to use the canals, including cyclists, but ask everyone to be considerate of others on the towpath.
"Whilst most people are kind and courteous, if you are on a bike, it can just mean slowing down and cycling at a leisurely pace."
Trial locations include The Birmingham Main Line Canal at the Wolverhampton Lock Flight, in Birmingham at Cambrian Wharf, and The Trent and Mersey Canal in Stone.
Other spots are at The Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Selly Oak and at Coventry Basin – with the locations chosen due to them being the most popular in the region.
Mr Passmore added: "We're asking cyclists to be sensible and to think about where they are and the people around them.
"Those on foot, including boaters accessing the water, have priority on our towpaths and, quite simply, those on bikes who need or want to travel quickly should use a route away from the canal.
"On busy stretches of canal or where the towpath is narrow, the safest option may be to get off your bike and walk."
Latest Comments
- mdavidford 53 min 31 sec ago
Both options are lacking a bit of innovative thinking. They should get someone creative to respray them as 'Lemon bikes'.
- slc 54 min 52 sec ago
No rounding - it was 26 minutes. Looks as though someone has walked it many times and found the mean to obtain such precision. Not just looked on...
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 4 sec ago
I've put those on Mrs H's bike and keep meaning to put them on mine as well, they are really effective because not only can drivers see you clearly...
- Doug_D 1 hour 11 min ago
Another book suggestion - I can highly recommend "Lost Summers and Half-Forgotten Afternoons: A Mint Sauce collection" - a beautifully presented...
- chrisonabike 2 hours 23 min ago
But... the last is only not the case with drivers on normal roads because driving on the cycle path / footway / rolling a vehicle up there is seen...
- mdavidford 3 hours 1 min ago
I think you're missing an opportunity to pack even more tech into it - add accelerometers that can detect whether they're pedalling or stepping....
- chrisonabike 3 hours 26 min ago
Thanks. I guess the question is "need". If the road is busy, it sounds like it is a desired route between places? In which case (given this an...
- mdavidford 3 hours 34 min ago
Don't know what you mean. I thought my suggestion was entirely practical.
- Rapha Nadal 4 hours 9 min ago
I'd buy a motorbike fo rthat kind of money!
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66 comments
Many stretches of canal towpath that look so inviting to cycle along - well, you have to pick your time. If you get it wrong, as if by magic on the return journey, the bank and towpath will be strewn with anglers and their kit.
I only ran over one rod.
I'm surprised this clip hasnt been used in this discussion yet, it was from 2018,but has gone viral again in the last week https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/speedy-cyclist-falls-into-scottish...
Ouch
Always travel at a speed at which you can stop safely in the distance you can see to be clear....
Lol. Paths under bridges are narrower too, so always be cautious.
I have done narrow boating a bit and a lot of paths are barely used, so speed is not an issue (subject to "at which you can stop safely in the distance you can see to be clear"). Always best to be fairly slow around locks though as you never know when a boater may appear as they can come from any direction.
Looks to me that the "filmer" is on a de-restricted electric bike as no obvious noise or signs of cycling for him to be going the speed he seemed to be going. Of course he might have just let off before the filming starts.
The point of a limit is its a clear rule not relying on an individuals perception of whats correct and safe. A towpath is primarily pedestrians so that sets the safe speed.
A lot of these comments could be paraphrased as a driver saying "when the road is empty I can drive as fast as I like because I am safe".
Drivers used to use the same argument about drinking. "I know how much I can drink and be safe"
its all really about ego and individuals thinking their journey is the only thing going on.
WHY FOCUS & DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CYCLISTS⁉
How about urging motorists to 'Stay Kind, Slow Down' and encourage them to stay below 8mph too >and actually prevent the unabated mass death n destruction they cause...
Below is just one example of 10000s of murderous motorists annually to focus on much more over cyclists⤵...
https://road.cc/content/news/teenage-cyclist-killed-collision-bus-283879
Because along the canal paths, cyclists are the fastest and probably most dangerous thing on there (apart from the scrotes with knives and geese). The Canal and River Trust cannot tell cars on roads to slow down. All they are literally stating is a speed that is always quoted for cyclists and peds mixing in the same area. I don't know about you but I have been almost a victim of speeding cyclists along those on both my bike and when walking.
And until we know what happened with the report above, why call it murder?
are the scrotes tooling up with killer attack geese now? pit bulls out of fashion?
I'm more scared of the Geese then the pitbulls / scrotes. Especially in hatching season.
Geese are cowards. It's swans that you need to watch....
Has there ever actually been a recorded case of a swan breaking someone's arm?
Swans leave no evidence.....
No, they just drown you instead.
Good idea. Common sense is all well and good but people seem to ignore it when they're in a rush or blame the person they saw running really fast, so 20mph on a bike is completely reasonable. So many kids and grown idiots zoom around the towpaths here.
8mph is fine when trying to be courteous of pedestrians, boat folks and others on a towpath, (not to be confused with a cycle superhighway) perhaps can even go a bit quicker if empty, using that common sense !
20 mph is unlikely to be reasonable on a towpath at any time, but 12 - 14 should be fine when the path is empty
Here in west Yorkshire, Canal and Rivers Trust have recieved about 10 million pounds in the last 8 or so years from the City Connect DfT project. This money has been spent 'upgrading' the towpaths on various canals around towns and cities (Leeds-Liverpool canal, Huddersfield canal etc) with the explicit aim, amongst other things, of increasing commuting cycling - getting people out of their cars and cycling to work on the canal. Local cycle campaigns explicitly asked whether there would be a speed limit, and were told there wouldn't be.
The delivery was woefully inadequate (deliberately so, in my opinion) for cyclists, and not very family/disability friendly - narrow A-frames, speedbumps, loose gravel and hard-packed earth surfaces, which are a pain on a bike as well as in a recumbent, wheelchair or pram.
I maintain that CRT create a facade that they want cyclists on towpaths when it comes to applying for government grants, then this facade quickly disappears when the money is spent. I'm not in a position to judge whether their actions are legal or not, but I would certainly consider their actions immoral. I'm actually totally fine with them putting restrictions on cyclists on busy canals, but it is total hypocracy on their part to also claim millions of pounds of funding designated for cycling infrastructure.
8 mph overall is ridiculous. However, I always slow to walking pace when navigating around pedestrians. I would ride around 16mph on clear sections and slow when necessary.
I don't have much of a problem with this given the width of most tow paths.
I do have a MASSIVE problem with the infra in question being advertised as a cycle route on mapping or used as a justification for not installing proper cycle paths elsewhere (We don't need a path here, they can use the tow Path...)
I also have an issue with funding for cycling rather than walking/disabled access/general leisure being used. Given normally the above tend to come out of the same active travel budget and should still be done it doesn't matter from a funding perspective, but it shouldn't then be used by the council/gutter press to proclaim they have spent X million on new cycling infra, what are the cyclists complaining about...
Some respondants proclaim the infra is for familys cycling etc... Remember on the flat (which is basically a definition of a canal tow path) a slow cyclist is still expected to average 11 mph...
Shared paths should never be considered as a commuting route for cyclists; shared paths are strictly recreational, in that shared path speed limits preclude the speeds that commuting cyclists would reasonably want to travel at.
Then why are the CRT taking money to build out commuter routes as per "little onions" post?
Seems like they are employing double standards to me. They want our cash but arent prepared to provide suitable paths for a commuter.
Communting speeds, like recreational speeds, vary per person. Pre Pandemic weight gain, I used to do my 8 mile undulating commute at between averages of15-20mph depending on build up of traffic / ability to filter easily. I would never dream of using shared paths at those speeds. However I cycled near them and would see people commuting in at 8-10mph as well.
And when I'm on the heavier hybrid bike that brought my averages down to 10-12mph, I would use them or canal paths depending on weather, etc. So I don't subscribe to the these routes should only be valid for commutes if allowed to go fast "commuting" speeds.
The UK Canal system is a wonderful resource, it's almost as extensive as the motorway network (or it used to be when I was a lad). You can get from anywhere to almost anywhere along the canals.
Near the towns there are lots of peds on the towpath, walking dogs on long leads and listening to music. Away from the towns the paths are almost empty.
The rules are simple pedestrians always have absolute right of way, adjust your speed to suit the conditions.
Ride your bike the same way you would like motorists to drive their cars
They do on footpaths. On shared use paths I believe everyone has equal right of way. This does not alter duty of care to others but slower people should allow faster people to pass. Failing to do so causes issues. I agree we should slow down when passing people.
Pedestrians are often considered the more vulnerable user when compared to a cyclists. I don't get this. Imagine a situation were you had to defend yourself against an attacker. You would be more vulnerable if you were still astride the bicycle (unless you can flee). I can't do a round house kick to smeone's head if I am on a bike. Also if I am on foot, that makes me better able to stay upright if I am pushed. On a bicycle I will end up on my face. If you crash into a pedestrian while on a bike, you will likely come a cropper too.
eg https://road.cc/content/news/jail-dog-walker-who-broke-cyclists-ribs-282669
That sounds just like motorist logic for getting impatient with cyclists on narrow lanes
I haven't ridden a towpath for a long time, but my question would be ... are the safety implications the same for a pedestrian moving aside to allow a cyclist to pass, as for a cyclist moving aside on a narrow lane to allow the car to pass?
If a narrow lane is nonetheless wide enough to allow a safe overtake if the rider is not riding centrally, then I do understand the drivers' impatience. If not, tough.
For my money, same would apply on the towpath. If it is wide enough to allow a safe overtake of the ped by the cyclist if the ped walks less centrally then the same common courtesy should apply. If not, tough, the cyclist should wait.
I use the Leeds Liverpool canal to commute to Leeds and average 12 - 14mph, so this advice would add 50% more to the commute. I get it though, but funds for cycling were used (I believe) to resurface this NCR. Canal Trust can't have it both ways
Presumably you were sensible anyway and slowed down at various points. I don't see the need to stick to 8 when there is no one around, so I wouldn't expect much difference for your journey time.
Like any shared path, you should be slowing down where there is potential conflict (and one reason why I rarely use them).
Exactly, it's called common sense. When there's nobody about just go as fast as you like.
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