You'd believe a shared-use path to have adequate provisions for, or at least, no obstructions blocking the users who are going to share it. However, a Worcester cyclist was left "astonished" at the sight of the kissing gates on a shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists, obstructions he described as "utter shambles and not at all inclusive", that forced a family of four cyclists to turn around.
Brian was out for a leisure ride yesterday in Worcester when he was faced with the Gandalf-like gates, loudly announcing "You shall not pass" despite a blue signpost, bare few feet away, indicating that it was instead a route where cyclists were welcome.
"I decided to take a route that was showing up on my GPS as passable," Brian told road.cc. "When I got to the gate I was astonished by the contraption I saw in front of me. The path is signposted as being for pedestrians and cyclists so a shared use path."
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He initially thought that he wouldn't be able to get through the gates at all, so out of desperation and frustration, he decided to take a picture and post it on Twitter (as many of us would have done). Right then, a family of four — mother and father and two children — approached from the other side, all riding their bikes.
"I was annoyed at the obstruction and approached it, only to realise that the gate would open to allow something through," he said (a rather poor imitation of Gandalf, then).
He added: "Unfortunately the family could not get through though they did try hard. I did manage to manoeuvre my bike by tilting it in a weird fashion. The family however were forced to go back and head elsewhere."
Shared-use sign next to the kissing gates in Trotshill, Worcester (Google Maps)
Brian said that the kissing gate had some sort of padlock which you could unlock with a key to allow bigger cycles through, however, that would still make it incredibly difficult, or in most cases downright impossible for users with wheelchairs, mobility scooters, trishaws, cargo bikes, tandems, and so on.
"It's an utter shambles and not at all inclusive. In my opinion this is an unnecessary obstruction and needs to be removed," he said.
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A few hundred feet away on the path, on the east side of the Trotshill Way leading up to Trotshill Lane East, which also forms a part of a bridleway, he was greeted with another contraption. This time, it was another old nemesis of many cyclists and accessibility users: the staggered barriers.
Other cyclists were also not very pleased about the whole state of affairs in Worcester.
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"Trotshill. Been a real issue for years. It has had countless complaints yet the council say it is to stop motorcycles. What is hilarious is the horse drop pad on the other side of the road. Horses aren't getting through there," wrote one user on Twitter.
A cyclist said: "A motocross bike/scrambler can just whizz further on and gain access elsewhere. This simply makes things awkward for non-motorists’ daily lives," while another person observed: "Cycling infrastructure brought to you by people who have never used (or even seen?) a bicycle."
Worcestershire Country Council has been contacted for comment.
> Disabled cyclist accuses Stockport Council of trying to “worm its way out” of making sure that all cycling and walking routes are accessible
Cyclists facing issues with accessibility due to weird placement of blockades and bollards isn't anything new. In March, we reported that Steve Abraham, a cyclist from Milton-Keynes known for his long-distance record attempts who also works as a delivery rider criticised the local council’s decision to install barriers and bollards on the city’s cycleways and shared-use routes, which he said prevented the paths being used by delivery riders with large bike trailers — that were themselves supplied by the council.
The council defended its decision, saying the bollards were put in place for "safety" reasons and to prevent vehicles from accessing the area and driving along the redway.
However, the ultra-cycling legend Abraham remained unconvinced with the council's decision to rearrange the bollards from a straight line to a triangular shape.
He said the new bollards had made it trickier for delivery riders to find efficient, accessible routes using the city's redways, a traffic-free shared use network covering most of the city estates and stretching out to the area's older towns and labelled the triangular rearrangement as a "bad solution that creates conflict with other users".
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92 comments
Don't you start with your discriminatory language - there are plenty of other forms of trans-port you know!
That kissing gate in the first pic seems fine to me. Quality is a bit poor but what looks like a padlock appears to be designed to lock the whole thing shut which it isn't. Pretty normal in my experience.
Otherwise what's the issue? I doubt that every potential user can use it but that is a fact of life. Sometime we have to, if only by ommission , exclude some people. Oh dear, ah well, life is like that. The gate is there for a reason and I have yet to see a way of restricting access to motorcycles etc that will allow every other form of legitimate transport through. It cannot happen. If I am wrong prove it.
Next thing we know farmers will have to tarmac every foot path just so a few people who can't deal with mud can get along.
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