BBC Cyclepath Photo Collection

Tony Raven <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

As a follow up to their earlier piece, the BBC has published a selection
of Reader's Paths.

Quoted message said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4794198.stm

I see Pete Owens' favourite came from my camera[1].

I believe the phone kiosk in North Harrow has since been relocated.

[1] My camera, photo taken by my partner, photo submitted to WCC by
yours truly.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Tony Raven <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

As a follow up to their earlier piece, the BBC has published a selection
of Reader's Paths.

Quoted message said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4794198.stm

I see Pete Owens' favourite came from my camera[1].

I believe the phone kiosk in North Harrow has since been relocated.

Because, after all, it's cheaper and safer to move a telephone kiosk
(with all the associated digging-up of power, phone lines, etc, resiting
not on other utilities, than to simply leave cyclists on the road where
they belong.

R.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Tony Raven <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

As a follow up to their earlier piece, the BBC has published a selection
of Reader's Paths.

Quoted message said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4794198.stm

I see Pete Owens' favourite came from my camera[1].

I believe the phone kiosk in North Harrow has since been relocated.

[1] My camera, photo taken by my partner, photo submitted to WCC by
yours truly.

Yes - the phone kiosk was only really there while the cyclopath
was being built, it was relocated before the path was fully finished,
still a great photo though.

I have actually cycled on that path once, I stopped off on my way home
from work to pick up my wife's bike from The Bike Shop in North Harrow
and cycled home on my bike pushing hers with one hand - not something
I wanted to try for the first time on the main road.

The road is quicker, safer and more convenient, the local press has
frequent letters about how under used and pointless the path is.

Douglas

Douglas Steel said:

The road is quicker, safer and more convenient, the local press has
frequent letters about how under used and pointless the path is.

One gets the impression that many of thee "psyclepaths" are put in
simply so the council can tick off "have made plenty of cycling
provision" on their annual green report (or whatever it's called).
Whether the provision thus (expensively) provided is of any actual use
to any significant use of bicycles is largely irrelevant.

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:23:42 +0000 someone who may be Douglas Steel
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yes - the phone kiosk was only really there while the cyclopath
was being built, it was relocated before the path was fully finished,
still a great photo though.

Would it not have been easier to move it first?

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

David Hansen said:

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:23:42 +0000 someone who may be Douglas Steel
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yes - the phone kiosk was only really there while the cyclopath
was being built, it was relocated before the path was fully finished,
still a great photo though.

Would it not have been easier to move it first?

Yes definitely, but I guess thet would have involved actually
getting the phone company to get around to it before they
started ripping the pavement up - such joined thinking seems
to be beyond the wit of many local councils

Douglas

Quoted message said:

The road is quicker, safer and more convenient

I think you've got it there, Doug. Aye, I would say that just about
sums it all up.

Pyromancer said:

One gets the impression that many of thee "psyclepaths" are put in
simply so the council can tick off "have made plenty of cycling
provision" on their annual green report (or whatever it's called).
Whether the provision thus (expensively) provided is of any actual use
to any significant use of bicycles is largely irrelevant.

And how much money has been squandered in providing these farcilities
which nobody wants (except possibly a few drivers because it might keep
us out of their way)?

I think I've just got one of the answers to "wtf have you done with all
that extra tax revenue, Gordon?".

David Hansen said:

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:23:42 +0000 someone who may be Douglas Steel
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yes - the phone kiosk was only really there while the cyclopath
was being built, it was relocated before the path was fully finished,
still a great photo though.

Would it not have been easier to move it first?

You are forgetting the tradition handed down through generations of road
builders that as soon as you lay a nice new smooth road surface you have
a traditional Digginup Ceremony to ensure the road gods smile on you.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

Zog The Undeniable said:

And how much money has been squandered in providing these farcilities
which nobody wants (except possibly a few drivers because it might keep
us out of their way)?

The Cambridgeshire spend per head per annum is:

Cyclists & Pedestrians £1.45
Roads £190
PT £ 53

(courtesy of Cambridge Cycling Campaign list)

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Would it not have been easier to move it first?

Yes definitely, but I guess thet would have involved actually
getting the phone company to get around to it before they
started ripping the pavement up - such joined thinking seems
to be beyond the wit of many local councils

They've moved a load of bus stops around my way over the last few years.
Unfortunately the bus stop department isn't the same as the bus shelter
department, so we now have a lot of shelters nowhere near the stops. On
rainy days you have to watch for the bus coming and leg it from the shelter
to the stop.

POHB said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Would it not have been easier to move it first?

Yes definitely, but I guess thet would have involved actually
getting the phone company to get around to it before they
started ripping the pavement up - such joined thinking seems
to be beyond the wit of many local councils

They've moved a load of bus stops around my way over the last few years.
Unfortunately the bus stop department isn't the same as the bus shelter
department, so we now have a lot of shelters nowhere near the stops. On
rainy days you have to watch for the bus coming and leg it from the shelter
to the stop.

The Chief Excecutive of the Council area that I live in is a keen
cyclist. The local authority has put in very few cycling 'facilities'
in their area. Are these two facts connected, perhaps?

Tony Raven said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

And how much money has been squandered in providing these farcilities
which nobody wants (except possibly a few drivers because it might
keep us out of their way)?

The Cambridgeshire spend per head per annum is:

Cyclists & Pedestrians £1.45
Roads £190
PT £ 53

(courtesy of Cambridge Cycling Campaign list)

I wonder what the equivalent for Swindon is, since they've built quite a
lot of new paths this year? Some are usable if you can dodge the dogs
and peds, but the potentially most useful ones - those that take short
cuts completely away from roads - are usually littered with glass.
There's a wonderfully planned one from Shaftesbury Avenue to Queens
Drive which is shorter and quicker than the road alternatives, but you
need tough tyres because of all the smashed white cider and alcopop bottles.

Zog The Undeniable said:

Quoted message said:

I wonder what the equivalent for Swindon is, since they've built quite a
lot of new paths this year? Some are usable if you can dodge the dogs
and peds, but the potentially most useful ones - those that take short
cuts completely away from roads - are usually littered with glass.
There's a wonderfully planned one from Shaftesbury Avenue to Queens
Drive which is shorter and quicker than the road alternatives, but you
need tough tyres because of all the smashed white cider and alcopop
bottles.

Sounds like they splashed out all of 50p with one of those dodgy
contractors who knock on your door with some tarmac left over from
another job ;-)
--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

Tony Raven <[email hidden]> wrote:
| The Cambridgeshire spend per head per annum is:
|
| Cyclists & Pedestrians £1.45
| Roads £190
| PT £ 53
|
| (courtesy of Cambridge Cycling Campaign list)

Yebbut, cycle tracks and pavements are a lot cheaper per unit length
(and indeed, per unit area, although who wants a short fat pavement?)
than roads, as you can tell by how much reinforcing they have to put
into those bits of pavement that they are unable to prevent heavy road
traffic from straying onto. It looks as though they're building less
road than cycle and pedestrian route (per head, but who uses a cycle
route with their head?).

POHB said:

They've moved a load of bus stops around my way over the last few years.
Unfortunately the bus stop department isn't the same as the bus shelter
department, so we now have a lot of shelters nowhere near the stops. On
rainy days you have to watch for the bus coming and leg it from the shelter
to the stop.

Oh, that's priceless. I'm sure there is someone very proud of this
achievement.

Geraint Jones said:

Tony Raven <[email hidden]> wrote:
| The Cambridgeshire spend per head per annum is:
|
| Cyclists & Pedestrians £1.45
| Roads £190
| PT £ 53
|
| (courtesy of Cambridge Cycling Campaign list)

Yebbut, cycle tracks and pavements are a lot cheaper per unit length
(and indeed, per unit area, although who wants a short fat pavement?)
than roads, as you can tell by how much reinforcing they have to put
into those bits of pavement that they are unable to prevent heavy road
traffic from straying onto. It looks as though they're building less
road than cycle and pedestrian route (per head, but who uses a cycle
route with their head?).

I thought it was pretty expensive for a pot of white paint meself.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

ucgr said:

POHB said:

They've moved a load of bus stops around my way over the last few years.
Unfortunately the bus stop department isn't the same as the bus shelter
department, so we now have a lot of shelters nowhere near the stops. On
rainy days you have to watch for the bus coming and leg it from the shelter
to the stop.

Oh, that's priceless. I'm sure there is someone very proud of this
achievement.

A few years ago I had a go at a bus company because the bus left the
ferry terminal in Southampton at completely random times relative to the
arrival of the ferry. Shortly afterwards they made a news announcement
that they had changed the timetable to synchronise with the ferry
arrival. A quick inspection of the timetable showed the bus now
routinely left five minutes before the ferry got in!

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

Tony Raven said:

Quoted message said:

A few years ago I had a go at a bus company because the bus left the
ferry terminal in Southampton at completely random times relative to the
arrival of the ferry. Shortly afterwards they made a news announcement
that they had changed the timetable to synchronise with the ferry
arrival. A quick inspection of the timetable showed the bus now
routinely left five minutes before the ferry got in!

Ian Henden will be along soon to explain why this is entirely
reasonable, and your requirements are foolish.