if the petition suceeds and is passed into law would it be only mountain bikes allowed ? and still an offence for hybrids and CX bikes etc. just asking like 
Bike Forum
Petition to allow cyclist to use footpaths Please Sign !
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Posted 4 months ago #
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signed
Posted 4 months ago # -
Some of the best bits of singletrack I ride are great just because of the obstacles, Id hate them to be removed, altered, smoothed.
I honestly dont think the petition will do anything, except raise some awareness which may count against us sadly.
Posted 4 months ago # -
No, its landowners who are responsible for maintaining footpaths, whilst it becomes a local authority's issue if it is then redesignated a bridleway.
So, unlikely to be a roaring success, as under the current rules, that then means the trail needs to be re-surfaced.
You could always look to rid England & Wales of the whole anachronistic system, and catch up with Scotland...
Posted 4 months ago # -
When you lose access to your local trails you'll understand why raising the profile of such causes is an important issue.
I personally don't want to be restricted to bridleways, roads and trail centres.
Posted 4 months ago # -
how many fp in scotland have been resurfaced ?
as i said above "seems to work well in scotland...." why wouldn't it work as well for the rest of the uk.
Posted 4 months ago # -
well it seems I've already signed this e-petition, how long has it been going? As I don't remember the 1st time I signed it...
Posted 4 months ago # -
We are not restricted to Bridleways in reality.
Just go out and ride.
Posted 4 months ago # -
In scotland there is no obligation on anyone to repair or maintain (most) paths apart from the core path network.
You only have to see the bike damage in the pentlands to see what can happen when there is a lot of pressure on the paths.
Also in Scotland your right to ride is a qualified one - qualified by the need to be reasonable which includes not damaging the paths excessively so not riding on some when wet for example
Posted 4 months ago # -
So its probably best left as it is then.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Posted 4 months ago # -
pastcaring - Member
how many fp in scotland have been resurfaced ?
The classic Carn Mor Ban descent has been resurfaced at least in part because of damage from bikes caused by its popularity
Just pointing out that its not all perfect here either and some issues would arise in england given the same access rights
Posted 4 months ago # -
as i said above "seems to work well in scotland...." why wouldn't it work as well for the rest of the uk
I'd bet demand in terms of population per square mile is a lot less than in England, and maybe Wales too.
In England most 'wilderness' areas are actually pretty close to large conurbations, and lots of people want to use the open spaces.
Posted 4 months ago # -
done.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I do recognise there are some cracking footpaths to ride out there (and I do ride some, though only at night). But, as someone who also likes taking my little children for walks along footpaths, I'm rather torn on this issue. There are some footpaths that would frankly be dangerous if shared between walkers (particularly children) and cyclists. I enjoy walking on footpaths knowing it's unlikely that a cyclist carrying too much speed is going to come around a blind corner & squash my 2 yr old girl.
Because of that, I don't think a blanket opening up of rights on footpaths is the answer, but the decision should be made on a per-footpath basis. To pick a totally arbitrary figure, I would guess that 90% of footpaths would be pretty safe for cyclists and walkers to share.
Posted 4 months ago # -
So we should encourage sharing and consideration then.
Posted 4 months ago # -
TandemJeremy - Member
pastcaring - Member
how many fp in scotland have been resurfaced ?The classic Carn Mor Ban descent has been resurfaced at least in part because of damage from bikes caused by its popularity
Just pointing out that its not all perfect here either and some issues would arise in england given the same access rights
nothings perfect, but would you want scotland to go back to how it was?
Posted 4 months ago # -
How it was? its always been like this really - the land reform act codified existing practice in large part. Some more populated areas some marginal bits are now clearly open to bikes where it wasn't clear before
Posted 4 months ago # -
Right, Im off for a cheeky ride. There is almost no chance of me meeting anyone and if I do they are very unlikley to know anything about riding bikes on footpaths.
I will let sleeping dogs lie.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Done
Posted 4 months ago # -
TandemJeremy - Member
How it was? its always been like this really - the land reform act codified existing practice in large part. Some more populated areas some marginal bits are now clearly open to bikes where it wasn't clear beforeso pretty much the same as england is now. guessing? 90% of riders will ride footpaths, legal or not.
Posted 4 months ago # -
No - there is no distinction between any of the paths in the countryside at all and never has been. ( footpath / bridleway etc) some landowners tried to exclude bikes from areas such as country estates and parks. An example would be the Dalmeny estate - used to exclude bikes and it was never clear if you could do so or not - now its clear bikes have the right to go there.
Never any exclusion out in the hills / unfenced land.
Posted 4 months ago # -
interesting, every days a school day.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Done
Posted 4 months ago # -
done, I already do cheeky sensibly, in the real world there seem to be few who actually know the rules, you either get pros or antis and they are pro or anti irrespective of the ROW classification.
Posted 4 months ago # -
The problem is the petition has been open since august last year and its only got 3k signatures..
Posted 4 months ago # -
Signed it ages ago. Redesignation is no good because it allows horses which have a much greater impact. There also seem to be requirements to maintain the surface in such a manner to make it uninteresting to bikes.
Of the cyclists who would like access to footpaths I imagine those who like technical challenge are in a distinct minority, so you might get access to 'suitable' footpaths but these might be the uninteresting ones. Personally I'd like to see all footpaths open to cyclists with an exception process to exclude bikes on a small number of contentious paths. I'm thinking certain Lakeland/Dales etc paths where it might just be to dangerous to mix users. Obviously such paths would need to be clearly marked on a map and have appropriate signage.
As it stands I use footpaths quite a lot but try to do so as responsibly as possible, and being especially courteous to other users.
Edit: Useful reference describing an important movement leading to the access we have today http://kindertrespass.com/
Posted 4 months ago # -
done.
Posted 4 months ago # -
They will probably have to surface it so its useable in all weathers and remove any obstacles. So you will end up with that nice techy bit of singletrack being tared, smoothed and strightened.
This happens with depressing regularity to bridleways. Keeping your head down and saying nothing won't address this.
Posted 4 months ago # -
We are not restricted to Bridleways in reality.
Under the current system of cheeky trails, we are restricted to small honeypot areas advertised by word of mouth (or internet forums), usually with no regard to any environmental or user conflict issues that arise as a consequence.
Posted 4 months ago # -
And in case anyone hasn't seen it...
http://singletrackworld.com/2010/09/online-feature-access-all-areas/
Posted 4 months ago # -
I just found this please sign it.
Posted 3 months ago #
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