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news
humber-bridge-356603_1920Humber Bridge staff tell cyclist he can ride across it on main carriageway … police at other end tell him he can’t
A cyclist has said he received mixed messages when he set out to ride across the Humber Bridge on Sunday – with security staff telling him that, with the footways closed, he could do so using the main carriageway, only for traffic police at the other end telling him he should not have ridden across it.
Meanwhile the owners of the bridge, which spans the Humber Estuary near Kingston-upon-Hull, who closed the footways on Saturday due to an unspecified “recent incident,” have clarified that they did so as an “emergency response” following several recent suicides.
> Humber Bridge path closed to cyclists 'indefinitely'
While the bridge remains open to motor traffic, the 60-mile detour to access alternative crossings via bridges over the Trent and Ouse means that people who commute across it by bike or on foot cannot travel to work unless they other means of crossing, such as using their car if they have one, getting a lift from someone else, or taking the bus.
In the description to a video posted to his YouTube channel, Audax cyclist Rikki Lake said that on Saturday evening he had been planning the route of his Easter Sunday ride, including crossing the Humber, when he learnt from the Hull Daily Mail website of the closure of the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists.
“So I rang Humberside Police to clarify their position, the message was clear from them the Humber Bridge is private property we are not getting involved it's not a police matter.
“I also rang Humber Bridge Board to clarify whether they were offering a free shuttle service across the bridge or conning off a lane on the road. Another wasted call really speaking with the controllers – clearly no-one knew what was going on.
“I showed up ready to ride across, at the ramp I was greeted by someone from security who said if you want to cross they expect you to use the main carriageway.
“So hopping over the barrier a little bit further up I did just that, half way across the bridge, a private security van caught up with me and by the end I reached the other side of the bridge I was being bothered by traffic police.
“They told me I should not have crossed, so naturally I explained how I came to cross over and then proceeded to ask what about people who bikes who commute to work? What is the Humber Bridge Board doing to secure their safety?”
Mr Lake, who in the video said he “wouldn’t recommend” crossing the bridge on the dual carriageway due to the gusts of wind he experienced while passing under its arches, added that he hopes the bridge will be reopened “sooner rather than later – I don’t want to be known as the last person to ride across it.”
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Humber Bridge Board said: “We understand closing the footways has been a controversial decision that has not attracted universal support, but we would like to reassure the public that it has been taken as an emergency response to the unprecedented and deeply troubling events at the Humber Bridge over recent weeks.
“It is no secret that there has been a spate of people – mostly young people from the local area – who have decided to end their lives at the bridge.
“Closing the footways is the most immediate and effective way to prevent further incidents of this nature, and this was our sole consideration when making the decision.
“As well as protecting emotionally distressed individuals, the measure has been implemented to protect our staff and the public.
“When these tragic events occur, our staff are the first responders and have to deal with some extremely distressing and traumatic situations. We have a duty to minimise their exposure to such incidents to protect their mental health and wellbeing.
“The Humber Bridge Board currently spends a quarter of a million pounds each year on measures designed to prevent emotionally distressed individuals from ending their lives at the bridge. Until last month these measures have been largely effective.
“However, the recent tragic events are unlike anything we have previously dealt with, and we are working closely with Public Health, local MPs, local authorities, emergency services, the Samaritans, Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and other stakeholders to fully understand them and assess the future risk. While this is ongoing, the footways must remain closed to the general public.”
The statement concluded by saying that the Humber Bridge Board is “looking at reopening access to commuters as soon as possible, to minimise disruption to those who cycle or walk to work over the Humber Bridge, and we are considering a range of measures to ensure the situation can be effectively managed once the footways fully reopen.”
Alex Holdaway, interim strategic communications manager at Sustrans, said that the sustainable transport charity’s “role as custodians of the National Cycle Network (NCN) is to care for, improve and champion a long-term vision for the future of the network.
“However, the charity only owns approximately 4 per cent of the NCN, with the majority belonging to various landowners who are ultimately responsible for their own stretch and are able to restrict access as they see fit.
“Our Network Development Manager is in touch with the Humber Bridge Board to establish what the plan is,” she added.
The Samaritans website contains advice to people who are struggling with their mental health on how they can obtain help.
The charity’s advisors can be contacted at any time on the free telephone number 116 123, or via email tojo [at] samaritans.org "> jo [at] samaritans.org with a response time of 24 hours.
It has also developed a self-help app that enables users to “Keep track of how you're feeling, and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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44 comments
If any of that was actually true, surely they've been negligent in not closing it long ago, or indeed, ever having it open in the first place, instead of closing it as a knee-jerk reaction to the recent events? The impulse is still going to occur - it's just that it'll happen on a different bridge, or in a different way.
You mean like platforms, where a large number of people attempt? The jubilee line has been able to sort this out by fencing the platform from the line - I'm not aware of this being attempted in many mainline stations
That is absolutely fantastic, and I genuinely applaud these initiatives and policies
Speaking s someone who has suffered from severe clinical depression in the past, I can assure you that closing off public rights of way does not save the lives of those suffering from acute mental illness......
It's not even sticking plaster, and is more about not having to put up a fence or train their staff as you mentioned before.
The illness doesn't go away cos I can't access a particular bridge.
It is reasonable to expend for fencing or other safeguards. It is not reasonable to prevent access to daily essential journeys indefinitely.
[Edit] FFS, 200 people have attempted suicide since it opened in 81, with only 5 survivors.
They care so much about saving lives that this is their best idea, in 40 f*cking years and 195 deaths
And which part of that involves shutting down services so people can't travel? And let's get real here it's still pretty easy to throw oneself in front of a train because it's practically impossible to stop. And it's not about empathy it's about being told one ONE thing was considered before closing an important transport link and not the effect it would on people's ability to live their lives and and get to their place of work or where ever. Completely unacceptable if you ask me. Funny how it's only been closed to bikes and not cars. Apparently if you're in a car you're too important to be stopped from going about you business.
Well they do halt services and close stations if its absolutely necessary, but upto you whether you also want to believe if all that were true or not.
And it is about empathy because the decision was taken solely to try to save peoples lives & whilst it cant be the permanent solution, it would be totally wrong to delay or reverse that decision, till a proper alternative was in place.
If six people in one month had killed themselves at one railway station I think some steps might be taken, which is more of an equivalent to this sad instance.
Woud that include shutting down the station and stopping people from being able to travel? I don't think so.
Indefinitely too...
Ignoring the closure itself (and whether you would cycle over it), there are no cycling signs at both ends, I assume therefore that they are in force and legal.
They are, however, quite poorly placed as they appear attached to signs placed in the cycle lanes themselves.
From what I can see they are also significantly after the point at which you would have joined the carriageway naturally, and as a dual carriageway, you are not allowed to do a u-turn, are you meant to simply stop and stand there ? Or walk over, there is no sign for "No Pedestrians"
If they are on private property, and not the public highway, what legal force do they actually have?
That's a very good question, I wonder whether there's a public right of way (PROW) across the bridge, if there is then a landowner cannot prohibit access without obtaining a temporary closure order, and without one cannot legally enforce prohibition signs.
Is a bridge owner really a landowner? He may allow you to access the land at both ends, but not the bridge joining it.
Having looked this up (the definitive maps for East Riding and North Lincs) it seems that there is no PROW across the Humber Bridge and as such (by my understanding) the owner can legitimitely prohibit access on a whim. Of course it could be very difficult for them to prevent you from accessing the cycle way even if they've barriered it off and posted security guards, whilst you'd be trespassing they cannot use more than reasonable force to eject you, so if you're determined you could probably still use the bridge and if the guard manhandled you that could be viewed as being beyond reasonable force and you could claim compensation.
Additionally, the "private" road across the bridge (it's not a highway) is subject to standard road traffic regulations by virtue of it being accessible by the public. This would appear to mean that the police have authority on it and that cycling prohibition signs are enforceable.
If the sign is enforcable, that means cycling is prohibited - but there's no sign prohibiting pedestrians. I wonder if we'll see locals choosing a 45 minute walk, in favour of a 60 mile detour.
This closure (combined with another nearby) only added about mile and a half onto people's journey: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/19169916.desperate-reading-resid...
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