If you've ridden in West Wales….

If you’ve ridden in West Wales or think you may do in the future.

Gwynedd council are considering closing Barmouth bridge to walkers and cyclists.
And therefore killing their own tourist trade.

The 18mile road detour is on busy narrow winding roads.

It’s a great link for the Mawddach Trail and anyone riding with Pont Scethin in mind.

Please sign the petition here and tell them how stupid they are.

https://www.change.org/p/gwynedd-council-keep-barmouth-bridge-open-to-walkers-and-cyclists?recruiter=84875986&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive&rp_sharecordion_checklist=control

Please keep this post near the top to a couple of days by saying you’ve signed it or agree with the council etc

doesn’t say why they are closing it? dangerous?, too costly to repair? will no one pay a reasonable toll to pay for maintenance?

edit: to save 31K a year due to local authority cuts http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/closing-barmouth-bridge-big-effect-9841952
seems no one is collecting a toll, i wonder how many people would use it if they had to pay say £2 a time to cross?

They stopped collecting the toll several years ago for some reason

And why do “The council have to give Network Rail £30,800 a year to keep the bridge open for pedestrians.”?

signed

Why don’t they pay £15k a year each to 2 part timers to take it in turns to sit in the toll booth from 9am until 5pm every day 7 days a week to collect a quid from each person over the bridge each way?

Say 1000 people use this bridge a week
Employment goes down
Wages get paid
7 day coverage
it won’t cut numbers using the bridge
£30,800 bill get’s paid to Network Rail
excess money goes towards the repairs

Signed

Why don’t they pay £15k a year each to 2 part timers…

Because that would be expanding the bloated and wasteful public sector wage bill, obvs.

Thanks for post, petition signed. Regularly stay in Tal-y-bont and use the bridge to link up bigger rides on the Cader Idris side of the estuary, also do a few leisure rides up the estuary to the George III pub with my wife. Seems mad to close it, always seems busy.

Is it staying open to road traffic? If so, how do they propose to keep cyclists off it. Ride it, if someone complains, gallic shrug time.

Why don’t they pay £15k a year each to 2 part timers to take it in turns to sit in the toll booth from 9am until 5pm every day 7 days a week to collect a quid from each person over the bridge each way?

Because it cost significantly more to employ someone @£15k pa than £15k pa.

midlifecrashes – Member
Is it staying open to road traffic? If so, how do they propose to keep cyclists off it. Ride it, if someone complains, gallic shrug time.

There is no road surface. There’s a railway line and a shared use path

P1010808,
This is the bridge. A railway line plus a walkway & cycle path (no road)

Sorry, ignore me. I thought you meant this one not so far away.

Signed. Thanks the the heads up – I’ve used that route a few times and it would a real shame if it was lost!

Signed.
I’d be up for a demo ride across the bridge.
Also can any of the cycling bodies CTC etc do a risk assessment on the detour. schedule costs for the road improvements to make the detour as save as the bridge.

I’d think a bit of pressure on Network Rail wouldn’t go amiss either – they are after all a state owned company and such access should be part of their remit. I’d also like to see the justification for such a charge – does it really cost that much more to maintain the footway than just the rail bridge, or are they allocating a proportion of total maintenance on some sort of made up basis?

It’s a Network Rail issue, really. Why the council needs to pay 30K a year for NR to keep a bridge (which they already maintain for rail use) open for foot/bike traffic is beyond me.

This is the bridge. A railway line plus a walkway & cycle path (no road)

I think it might be classed as a road as Motorcycles are allowed to use it.

And why do “The council have to give Network Rail £30,800 a year to keep the bridge open for pedestrians.”?

Maybe something to do with the fact it’s has a train track on it.

t’s a Network Rail issue, really. Why the council needs to pay 30K a year for NR to keep a bridge (which they already maintain for rail use) open for foot/bike traffic is beyond me.

Maybe they would find it simpler to just close the walking /cycling bit as that wouldn’t need to employ anyone to collect tolls or require any kind of maintenance.

Don’t get me wrong I use this bridge a fair bit and would miss it but can see how it’s no worth the hastle of keeping it open for none rail traffic.

Signed

I think it might be classed as a road as Motorcycles are allowed to use it.

I could be wrong but I don’t think they are.

I have a vague recolection that mopeds are allowed to use it?

Motorcycles & Adults £2.50

Toll Charges

Used this bridge about a dozen times and never once saw anyone to collect my money.

Toll ended in 2013

reading between the lines, I get the impression that:

The council contribute 10% of the cost of maintenance, in return for access to the bridge
Two people lived in the toll house, and in return for a peppercorn rent they collected the tolls through the summer months. this offset most of the maintenance cost
they went off sick and retired, the council hadn’t maintained the toll house very well, and it was going to cost thirty thousand to make it habitable again
the council decided this wasn’t worth it, so didn’t repair the house or replace them, this meant the maintenance cost was unfunded
the council suddenly got a shock when they realised the maintenance underfund was more than they had figured for (as it happens, more than the cost of repairing the toll house)
now they want to close the bridge to save money

So this basically amounts to mismanagement, short termism (not maintaining the toll house) allied with more short termism (not replacing the toll staff) and multiplied by even more short termism (the loss of tourist spend to the local economy)

Alternatively, you could see it as a classic parade of the bleeding stumps gambit – try and threaten the coastal route so the WG step in and cover the cost.

Have you made that 10% up, or are you getting that from somewhere? If it really is 10%, then that is a huge and unreasonable proportion given the relative loadings, wear and requirements of the peds and cyclists – I’m betting that NR won’t save anywhere near that amount if this access is stopped, and need to be told to stop being so greedy.

Signed.

Gwynedd resident – signed

Thanks all for the support.

Not that I have anything to do with it, I simply wouldn’t go to the area if the bridge wasn’t open toll or not.

It might only be a bridge but it’s and essential link avoiding busy roads.

+1 to that – have considered using that to ride into Barmouth where I’d spend money, but won’t be doing so if they shut the bridge.

Motorcycles & Adults £2.50

Well there you go, said I could be wrong 😀 … meeting a mc over there seems like a scary prospect given that there’s not much spare room for a bicycle and walker to pass

Signed, it’s a lovely ride from Dolgellau that anyone can do. Ridden a few times to the pubs in Barmouth, watched the sunset while having food and drink then ridden back with lights.

Last time I crossed that bridge in 1983, the toll was something like 10p , the time before that it was 2p.

Well there you go, said I could be wrong … meeting a mc over there seems like a scary prospect given that there’s not much spare room for a bicycle and walker to pass

I’ve ridden it on a bicycle and a MC in the past, a bicycle with a tow trailer was more hassle than the MC. Did have a lot of funny looks on the MC and it did feel wrong.

I simply wouldn’t go to the area if the bridge wasn’t open

I bet the locals are crying into their beer.

signed

Signed

Signed.