Bristol-Bath cyclepath closure

"Danny Colyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

For those who may need to know, several notices have
gone up over the last couple of days bearing the
following text:

"ADVANCE WARNING OF TEMPORARY CLOSURE

"Essential maintenance works are being carried out between
the Avon Valley railway station at Bitton and the River
Avon bridge.

"This path will be closed to all users during working
hours whilst surfacing machinery is in use.

"Closure commences Monday 29th March and it is anticipated
work will be completed on Thursday 1st April.

"The A431 Bath Road/Kelston Road may be used as an
alternative route during times of operation.

"South Gloucestershire Council apologise for any
inconvenience caused as a result of this closure."

Notice that no definition is given for "working hours". I
fear that it may interfere with my morning commute, but
I'd expect to be able to get through in the evening.

I've been expecting for some time that this stretch would
have to be closed at some point for resurfacing. I can
live with it, as long as they do a good job (not looking
terribly likely, going by the patching that's already been
done). More notice would have been nice.

Their suggested alternative isn't much use to me, as it
goes nowhere near my office in Saltford. I'll have to go
through Keynsham, as I did when the path was closed due to
foot & mouth.

Two of our paths that I use were closed for many months.
One for river defence maintenance and one for foot and
mouth like yours.

Simon M.

Danny Colyer posted ...

Quoted message said:

For those who may need to know, several notices have
gone up over the last couple of days bearing the
following text:

"ADVANCE WARNING OF TEMPORARY CLOSURE

"Essential maintenance works are being carried out between
the Avon Valley railway station at Bitton and the River
Avon bridge.

Good for them for trying to let people know, and for getting
off their arses to do maintenance .. 😉

Quoted message said:

More notice would have been nice.

A weeks notice isn't enough, sheesh, what would be ?

Quoted message said:

Their suggested alternative isn't much use to me, as it
goes nowhere near my office in Saltford. I'll have to go
through Keynsham, as I did when the path was closed due to
foot & mouth.

A slight inconvenience maybe, but at least they _are_ trying
to improve the amenity.

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

Quoted message said:

Good for them for trying to let people know, and for
getting off their arses to do maintenance .. 😉

I approve of the maintenance being done. I even approve of
the path being closed to do it, because there's no way it
could be done properly while the path remains open. But I
still believe that:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

More notice would have been nice.

A weeks notice isn't enough, sheesh, what would be ?

Well, 2 1/2 working days notice actually. The notices
started appearing on Wednesday. Any regular cyclepath
commuter who happens to be on holiday this week will
probably find himself turning up late for work on his first
day back, not knowing about the closure. I would suggest a
minimum of 3 weeks notice for works that require the closure
of a major commuter route.

Quoted message said:

A slight inconvenience maybe, but at least they _are_
trying to improve the amenity.

If DW drops this weekend then it's no inconvenience to me at
all :-) (Due date was 25 March).

OTOH if she doesn't drop this weekend and I have to rush
home following a phone call during the week then it will be
a considerable inconvenience. But in that case I shouldn't
have any problem getting a lift home, if necessary.

Anyway, I received an e-mail this evening from a chap I
sometimes meet on the cyclepath who has contacted the
council. They expect the path to be closed from 08:00-17:00
while the work is underway.

To quote the council: "The contractors will be working
between 8am and 5pm with a machine that will provide a
wholly acceptable finished surface. This machine will take
up the full width of the path and there will be vehicles
moving material to it form the limits of where delivery
lorries are able to access the section. This would be a
hazard to cyclists and pedestrian users.

"This work is being carried out to remedy the deterioration
seen in a surface that has never been of a particularly high
construction standard. The hand laid patching work and
edging clearance has been carried out to fill the larger
voids and the wearing course overlay will provide a proper
finished surface.

"As you have seen hand laying does not provide the best
finish and is very difficult to achieve to a high standard,
however the contarctor made every effort to keep the path
open whilst the work was carried out which led to the many
joints you have seen over the last couple of days."

It sounds promising, and I certainly hope the work is done
to a much higher standard than the patching that has been
done over the last few days (actually, to be fair I was
very impressed that they managed to keep the path open
while doing the patching). But the cynic in me says they're
just doing it to use up their budget at the end of the year
and it'll probably be a botch job. I sincerely hope to be
proved wrong.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukdannyOpen ↗
Why I like OE6 - speedy5.freeserve.co.ukoe6.htmlOpen ↗
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Danny Colyer posted ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A weeks notice isn't enough, sheesh, what would be ?

Well, 2 1/2 working days notice actually. The notices
started appearing on Wednesday. Any regular cyclepath
commuter who happens to be on holiday this week will
probably find himself turning up late for work on his
first day back, not knowing about the closure. I would
suggest a minimum of 3 weeks notice for works that require
the closure of a major commuter route.

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular cyclepath
really a major commuter route ? I mean, how many cyclists
travel the route per day, compared to the number of people
that travel any parallel or similar routes by other means ?

Quoted message said:

It sounds promising, and I certainly hope the work is done
to a much higher standard than the patching that has been
done over the last few days (actually, to be fair I was
very impressed that they managed to keep the path open
while doing the patching). But the cynic in me says
they're just doing it to use up their budget at the end of
the year and it'll probably be a botch job. I sincerely
hope to be proved wrong.

Yeah, end of Fiscal year budget planning ... 😉

Hopefully it'll be good work, not just a bodge. Best of
luck .. 😉

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular
cyclepath really a major commuter route ? I mean, how
many cyclists travel the route per day, compared to the
number of people that travel any parallel or similar
routes by other means ?

Absolutely. I live near there. If you want to commute from
Bath to Bristol or vice-versa by bicyle it's the only
alternative to VERY major roads. A lot of people use it.
--
www.drianwalker.com

Remove the nice brown paste in my signature if you
want to reply!

Ian W posted ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular
cyclepath really a major commuter route ? I mean, how
many cyclists travel the route per day, compared to the
number of people that travel any parallel or similar
routes by other means ?

Absolutely. I live near there. If you want to commute from
Bath to Bristol or vice-versa by bicyle it's the only
alternative to VERY major roads. A lot of people use it.

Fair comment then, cheers.

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

Ian W said:

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular
cyclepath really a major commuter route ? I mean, how
many cyclists travel the route per day, compared to the
number of people that travel any parallel or similar
routes by other means ?

Absolutely. I live near there. If you want to commute from
Bath to Bristol or vice-versa by bicyle it's the only
alternative to VERY major roads. A lot of people use it.

Hundreds of years ago, in what now seems like another life,
I used to commute daily from Totterdown/Knowle to Twerton
through Keynsham. Have things changed THAT much? Not having
been in that part of the world for many years now, I'll
assume they have. Shame really. I used to think it was quite
a pleasant ride.

--
Cheerful Peddling John Mallard

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular cyclepath
really a major commuter route ?

By what measure ? There are more people travelling by bus or
short-haul train along this route than there are cycling
(and far more driving). But of those who do cycle, nearly
everyone will be doing it along the cycle path.

--
Smert' spamionam

John Mallard' not_me@all said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Absolutely. I live near there. If you want to commute
from Bath to Bristol or vice-versa by bicyle it's the
only alternative to VERY major roads. A lot of people
use it.

Hundreds of years ago, in what now seems like another
life, I used to commute daily from Totterdown/Knowle to
Twerton through Keynsham. Have things changed THAT much?
Not having been in that part of the world for many years
now, I'll assume they have. Shame really. I used to think
it was quite a pleasant ride.

On the A4 through Saltford?? If so, you wouldn't want to do
it now. Packed from dawn to dusk with slow-moving impatient
drivers. If you're talking about longer route on the B3116
and A39 then I can just about see this happening, although
the A39 is pretty dangerous as people whip along it and use
it as a short-cut.

--
www.drianwalker.com

Remove the nice brown paste in my signature if you
want to reply!

Andy Dingley posted ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular
cyclepath really a major commuter route ?

By what measure ? There are more people travelling by bus
or short-haul train along this route than there are
cycling (and far more driving). But of those who do cycle,
nearly everyone will be doing it along the cycle path.

Either or both measures really .. I have no clue as to the
actual route and how 'major' it is ..

If most of the cyclists using the route are actually using
the cycle path then it sounds like money well-spent. Even if
only a few cyclists use the cycle path it'd also, IMHO, be
money well-spent as it may encourage even more cyclists to
use it, or at least consider swapping their vehicular
transport for cycling .. 😉

It just seemed strange to me, given the amount of cycle path
knocking that goes on in this newsgroup, for someone to
complain that one's being resurfaced, and they didn't get
enough notice of the maintenance works ...

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer posted ...

Quoted message said:

More notice would have been nice.

A weeks notice isn't enough, sheesh, what would be ?

Try shutting a through-route for cars (say, the M25) with
2.5 days notice and see how you get on.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

"Ian W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 2004-03-27 00:14:55 +0000, "John Mallard"

not_me@all said:

Quoted message said:

>

Absolutely. I live near there. If you want to commute
from Bath to Bristol or vice-versa by bicyle it's the
only alternative to VERY major roads. A lot of people
use it.

Hundreds of years ago, in what now seems like another
life, I used to commute daily from Totterdown/Knowle to
Twerton through Keynsham. Have things changed THAT
much? Not having been in that part of the world for
many years now, I'll assume they have. Shame really. I
used to think

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was quite a pleasant ride.

On the A4 through Saltford??

Er, yes. Seemed OK in those days. As I said, I accept that
things have probably changed somewhat.

If so, you wouldn't want to do it now.

Quoted message said:

Packed from dawn to dusk with slow-moving impatient
drivers. If you're talking about longer route on the B3116
and A39 then I can just about see this happening, although
the A39 is pretty dangerous as people whip along it and
use it as a short-cut.

Regards

--
Cheerful Peddling John Mallard

Ian Smith posted ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer posted ...

Quoted message said:

More notice would have been nice.

A weeks notice isn't enough, sheesh, what would be ?

Try shutting a through-route for cars (say, the M25) with
2.5 days notice and see how you get on.

What do you think they can do except shut a cycle path if
it's being resurfaced ? It's not as if the cyclists can't
use the road, is it, so it's only like blocking a specific
lane of a road off .. which is often done, even on
motorways, with absolutely zero notice. One day the whole
motorway is open, the next there's only two or one lane open
.. with no notice given or expected.

Most major road routes can operate using one less lane 'cos
tarmacing machinery is only built, normally, to lay one lane
width at a time. I guess a cyclepath, being normally much
less wide can't be 'coned off' in separate lanes, and is a
manual operation, so safety of the workforce is an issue on
such a narrow space.

If enough cyclists used the road, while the cycle path were
shut, then perhaps other road users would be forced to
notice them more, probably due to sheer numbers, and may
actually have a beneficial effect upon other road users
perceptions of the specific needs of cyclists. I suspect,
however, that many commuting cyclists will simply stop using
the bike and use other transport ... of whatever form.

Simple logistics really.

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Mallard' not_me@all said:

Hundreds of years ago, in what now seems like another
life, I used to commute daily from Totterdown/Knowle to
Twerton through Keynsham.

I've done that in both dirctions. From Brisl to Bath and
from Bath to Brisl. I'm afraid I mostly used the A4, 'cos I
hardly ever left myself enough time to take the longer,
slower, cyclepath.

Quoted message said:

Have things changed THAT much? Not having been in
that part of the world for many years now, I'll
assume they have. Shame really. I used to think it
was quite a pleasant ride.

Not quite sure I'd describe the A4 thusly. But neither was
it anything particularly bad. I suppose turning off it
at/around Brislington helped.

--
Nick Kew

Quoted message said:

Andy Dingley posted ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But, in the scheme of things, is this particular
cyclepath really a major commuter route ?

By what measure ? There are more people travelling by
bus or short-haul train along this route than there
are cycling (and far more driving). But of those who
do cycle, nearly everyone will be doing it along the
cycle path.

Either or both measures really .. I have no clue as to the
actual route and how 'major' it is ..

If most of the cyclists using the route are actually using
the cycle path then it sounds like money well-spent. Even
if only a few cyclists use the cycle path it'd also, IMHO,
be money well-spent as it may encourage even more cyclists
to use it, or at least consider swapping their vehicular
transport for cycling .. 😉

I have just spent the last week riding between Bath and
Bristol and back each day and was pleasantly surprised at
the number of riders of all kinds who used the path from
roadies and shoppers and even a few recumbents - (I think I
waved to you Danny ;-)

I was constantly overtaking riders (and being overtaken by a
few less). I rode it in both daylight and at night and found
it enjoyable.

That said, there was one small area that I did find
unpleasant where the path went through Easton in Bristol,
and on my last days I took the road to avoid this part. I
witnessed a cyclist being physically attacked by a couple of
yobs on a motorscooter who had been racing up and down the
path and who had hit out at him with an umbrella. (I ended
up calling 999 and being a witness). It also seemed that a
bonfire had been lit on the path at the same point.

Quoted message said:

It just seemed strange to me, given the amount of cycle
path knocking that goes on in this newsgroup, for someone
to complain that one's being resurfaced, and they didn't
get enough notice of the maintenance works ...

On Wednesday I asked a gang of workmen at Bitton if the path
was going to be closed and they told me a very emphatic
"No", explaining that it would always be passable as they
worked on each side seperately. However notices subsequently
went up contradicting this. Communication clearly seems to
require some work.

John B

Nick Kew said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Mallard' not_me@all said:

Hundreds of years ago, in what now seems like another
life, I used to commute daily from Totterdown/Knowle to
Twerton through Keynsham.

I've done that in both dirctions. From Brisl to Bath and
from Bath to Brisl. I'm afraid I mostly used the A4, 'cos
I hardly ever left myself enough time to take the longer,
slower, cyclepath.

Slower? This last week I've been averaging about 17mph
from Bath to the centre of Bristol. On the morning I left
the path at Fishponds and took the road into Bristol my
average dropped to around 12 as every set of traffic
lights into Bristol seemed to be against me. The path was
much faster to use.

John B

Ian W said:

On the A4 through Saltford?? If so, you wouldn't want to
do it now. Packed from dawn to dusk with slow-moving
impatient drivers. If you're talking about longer route on
the B3116 and A39 then I can just about see this
happening, although the A39 is pretty dangerous as people
whip along it and use it as a short-cut.

I've worked in Saltford for 5 1/2 years now (making the
cyclepath particularly important to me - there is no other
way to reach my office without either riding along the A4 or
extending the journey by several miles, and apart from
anything else the air tastes foul along there). The traffic
was bad when I started working there, and it's increased
noticeably year on year.

I'm a confident and experienced enough cyclist that I don't
actually have a problem riding along the A4 in rush hour if
I have to. But the cyclepath is a great deal more pleasant,
not to mention quicker.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukdannyOpen ↗
Why I like OE6 - speedy5.freeserve.co.ukoe6.htmlOpen ↗
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Nick Kew said:

I've done that in both dirctions. From Brisl to Bath and
from Bath to Brisl. I'm afraid I mostly used the A4, 'cos
I hardly ever left myself enough time to take the longer,
slower, cyclepath.

In part it depends where you're riding from and to. From South-
East Bristol (where I live) to Bath (or to Saltford, where I
work), the cyclepath is the shortest and quickest route.
Between South-East Bristol and the centre the cyclepath
skirts a large hill, which the road just goes straight over.
So from the centre of Bristol to Bath, the A4 may be
quicker. From West Bristol you'd have to go a long way out
of your way to get to the path, so the road would obviously
be a lot quicker.

It might also depend when you were riding. The entire
length of the cyclepath is now tarmacced. When I was a
student in Bath, much of it was surfaced with stone
chippings. A great deal of resurfacing work was done
between my graduation in 1995 and my return to the area in
1998. A decent riding surface obviously makes an enormous
difference to cycling speed.

Quoted message said:

Not quite sure I'd describe the A4 thusly. But neither was
it anything particularly bad. I suppose turning off it
at/around Brislington helped.

On a route that goes through Brislington, the A4 is
certainly the quickest.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukdannyOpen ↗
Why I like OE6 - speedy5.freeserve.co.ukoe6.htmlOpen ↗
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

JohnB said:

I have just spent the last week riding between Bath and
Bristol and back each day and was pleasantly surprised at
the number of riders of all kinds who used the path from
roadies and shoppers and even a few recumbents - (I think
I waved to you Danny ;-)

Several times, and I nodded back.

Was it you who stopped under the bridge by Victoria Road
(just after the tree stumps with the faces on) as I rode
under it on Wednesday evening? I wish I'd stopped, I'd been
hoping to stop for a chat at some point during the week
(and to have a good look at your bike). I really should
have stopped at that point anyway, to change my lenses. I
left the office with clear lenses, stopped after a few
hundred yards to replace them with mirrors, then about 3
miles further on the sky clouded over and everything went
very dark.

Quoted message said:

That said, there was one small area that I did find
unpleasant where the path went through Easton in Bristol,
and on my last days I took the road to avoid this part.

The part through Fishponds can be bad as well (near Safeway,
where there's a brick sculpture of a fish on its nose). A
few years ago there were reports of cyclists being shot at
by a kid with an airgun. I've also seen a television come
hurtling down a bank onto the cyclepath.

Quoted message said:

On Wednesday I asked a gang of workmen at Bitton if the
path was going to be closed and they told me a very
emphatic "No", explaining that it would always be passable
as they worked on each side seperately. However notices
subsequently went up contradicting this. Communication
clearly seems to require some work.

I hope the gang of workmen who were at Bitton during the
week will also be doing the resurfacing work next week.
They're the same people who have been extending the Bitton
railway for the last couple of years. Very friendly, very
courteous, and they certainly seem keen to do a good job.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukdannyOpen ↗
Why I like OE6 - speedy5.freeserve.co.ukoe6.htmlOpen ↗
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine