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news
York Cycle Campaign gatesCouncil urged to remove "shameful" barriers blocking disabled cyclists
A mathematics professor who struggles to access York paths on his trike has urged the council to finally remove "shameful" barriers blocking disabled cyclists. Last year Dr Jamie Wood brought legal action against the city council for breaches of the Equality Act.
The council says the barriers were originally installed in response to safety issues so must be reviewed before removal, but Dr Wood says "It's really shameful, frankly, that this is still going on."
In response, the York Cycle Campaign found 30 places where barriers hinder or prevent people from using the city's paths.
"Cycling provides freedom to so many people. But barriers like those at Hob Moor slice off entire sections of the city to people with limited mobility. Up and down the country these kinds of outdated barriers are being taken out, literally expanding people's horizons," a spokesperson said.
The mentioned barriers at Hob Moor were installed in 2004 to stop motorcyclists riding on the commons, barriers the York Cycle Campaign challenged at the time. Council director of transport James Gilchrist said changes were due in the new year and a £100,000 fund has been set up to review the barriers city-wide.
Dr Wood has multiple sclerosis and travels by trike, and despite taking the council to court, he says what he would rather see is the barriers scrapped for good.
"Over the last 20 years the council have constantly been putting in infrastructure which doesn't conform to any of the equality acts or any of the disability guidance," he told the York Press.
"They just put it in because they think most people can use it, because they think they're 'most people' – and then if you somehow don't fit their model of a fit, healthy 40-year-old man, you can't use their infrastructure.
"To try to go on a route I haven't been on before I have to do this extraordinary, in-depth research of getting photographs of every individual barrier and trying to work out whether I can get through it because every one is a unique design.
“It's almost like they’re trying to do modern art installations on cycle routes – it's really frustrating."
York Labour responded to the concerns by saying disabled residents are being "barred from town, and barred from country". Director of transport Mr Gilchrist said residents' concerns would be addressed.
"We are aware of locations in the city where current 'access control' points for cyclists/ pedestrians were installed many years ago, and which present an obstacle for some disabled users and riders of some types of modern adapted cycles to use," he said.
"Many of these were installed to address specific safety concerns at the time and require careful consideration before removal or adaptation. In regards to the review of these 'access control' points, an audit brief is currently being finalised.
"As part of the city wide programme of improvements we will be in consultation with organisations such as the York Cycle Campaign to review all similar locations and prioritise and implement appropriate improvements."
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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40 comments
I can't and agree there probably isn't.
What "compromises"? It's either accessible to a given standard * or it's not. Enforcement on what presumably would be an "anti-social behaviour issue" is something else.
I don't think making it impossible for some and a nuisance (or actual crash hazard) for everyone for all time is an acceptable cost. Particularly as - where I am now - that doesn't seem to have much effect.
Many of the barriers I've encountered can be passed with a motorbike. And it's not like kids / thieves won't know some alternative access points...
Where I am our scrambler bike gangs happily use the roads. I've watch on a couple of occasions as they've baited the police in the middle of town for some time - no immediate scuttling off down an alley. Far as I'm aware no-one's put measures on the roads to help impede them. No-one's putting single-lane chokepoints on the accesses to the M25 because drug dealers use it for transport or people joyride, are they?
* Apparently these actually exists. If your local authority don't cover adapted "cycles" they need challenging. Your mileage may vary however...
Which standards? There are many recommendations on barrier widths by various organisations but they are only recommendations and are not enforcable
That's pretty much what "standards" seem to be / mean in the UK at least for cycling infrastructure *sigh*. Because obviously government wouldn't want to tie up local authorities / Highways England / TfL with pettifogging regulations. (oh - except when it's not bikes...) So we are still at the level of "guidance" and "councils / highway authorities will develop / follow their own". And let's hope they follow it if they do.
This is not the case e.g. in The Netherlands (see CROW) - or for roads, by and large.
That's not to say that there isn't detailed information out there:
I think (probably wrong) the latest "official" stuff (guidance...) is Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20) - worth a look, it's pretty readable and is starting to sound modern. Two parts here - 1.16 (page 12):
And section 5.4.1 (and on) p.40:
Before that it's the Manual for Streets v.1 and v.2 (not quite "official") - v.1 doesn't have anything explicit on dimensions for accessible "cycles" - though it does for cars / lorries and parking...
Digging around the Ranty Highwayman blog is probably the easiest way to find some of this info in one place - he's also part of the "beyond the bicycle coalition" addressing this.
Sustrans have some stuff from 2019 that is more like it too:
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/for-professionals/infrastructure/sustrans-traffic-free-routes-and-greenways-design-guide/sustrans-traffic-free-routes-and-greenways-design-guide-contents/2019-design-guidance/part-2-design-details/6-space-requirements
Put simply, no. Any barrier that would allow a trike through would allow a motorbike through, trikes and handbikes being around 80 cms or more wide and a Honda 250 dirt bike being 82 - 83 cms wide. Therefore any barrier that allowed a trike rider through without dimopunting would allow a dirt bike through. It appears rhat when it comes to access some will always be disappointed.
Think you'll find it's a breech of the piece....
?! I'd go for breach of the peace.
Having done some of this access control on paths for real, it is currently an impossible nut to crack - due to a lack of resources for operation / enforcement. Until the great electorate votes to pay for those resources, the problem will remain. Having a disabled other half, I understand the argument for accessibility. But I also think with the current costraints, the risk of injuries due to trail bikes etc being used on some open access paths is more than the risk of denying disabled / non-standard access. Imagine being the council officer that allowed access for all if a toddler got wiped out...
Just occasionally I do feel that those of us who have specific needs just have to give way to the overall general situation. If 99% of users can access something and one can't without opening another can of worms then that one may just have to live with it. We all have situations where we feel that we are discriminated against and sadly we just cannot make allowances for everyone.
So mattsccm, are you speaking as someone with specific needs ("those of us") or throwing out a specific, "I'm ok jack but bad luck others, supposed greater good"?
So are you telling Handcyclist bad luck but you can't do that because they occaisionally need to stop motorcyclists who are fit enough to get their bike on their anyway?
This is literally the opposite of the equality act 2010, whic requires business owners to make changes to their premesis to provide acces to all. Here we are not looking for them to go out of their way not to provide step free access to existing building, we are only asking them not to put in barrriers blocking intended users.
And you might find it is more than 1%, maybe more like 5%. And consider further that those people who are less physically capabale of hauling bikes past these barriers, probably have more need to be protected from motor vehicles.
Reason we can't have cycle facilities for all.
I don't know why this is not a problem in Belgium or the Netherlands
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