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Newly installed 'no cycling' signs on popular route "send out the wrong message"Wootton Bassett no cycling signs (Facebook/Luke Edwards)

Newly installed 'no cycling' signs on popular route "send out the wrong message"

The council insists cycling was always prohibited on the path, with signage simply updated
by Dan Alexander
Mon, Sep 04, 2023 17:09
8

Cyclists in Wootton Bassett have been left upset by the council's decision to put up 'no cycling' signs on a popular route many believed was an approved cycle path.

The signs appeared last week, with one resident saying the route in the Wiltshire town, had been a cycle path "for as long as I've known" and that nobody from the council had made them aware that it was not allowed.

However, signage has now been installed, Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council releasing a statement, reported by the Gazette & Herald, stating that the path was never an approved cycling route and that a complaint from a resident has prompted them to update the signs in the area.

"An old no cycling sign has simply been replaced with a new no cycling sign, following a complaint from a resident that the sign was not clear," Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council said.

> Signs for cyclists – from 'No cycling' to 'Except cycles' here's everything to look out for when riding on the road

A photo of a 'no cycling' sign was shared on Facebook by Luke Edwards who said it had replaced a previous cycle path sign, although this has been disputed by other locals who say the signs in question prohibited cycling, as the council has suggested.

"Is the town closing off more cycle paths than are being created?" Mr Edwards asked. "[I'd] Love to see a proper cycle path map for the town available for cyclists and tourists to use.

"There are hardly any cycle route signs in the town and this one is a posh town council sign not a bog-standard Wiltshire Council sign. Sends out wrong message and shows that priority is to prevent cycling in the town rather than support it."

Another local commented: "Strange that the council can spend money on signs stopping people cycling however I can't recall any signs promoting cycling routes in the town."

> The Highway Code for cyclists — all the rules you need to know for riding on the road explained

Dave Knight, a campaigner for proper cycling paths in the town, said the only reason people might cycle on pavements or footpaths is due to a lack of safe infrastructure.

"We have a proposal for a short section of (active travel) cycle route at this location which would take cyclists away from this narrow path," he explained. "I recently presented our plans for the network and two initial interventions, including this one, to the town's full council, which was very supportive.

"It is therefore quite disappointing that in all the years of campaigning and activity to put safe routes in place, the only actual thing that has changed on the ground is this no cycling sign.

"The town's Environment Trust supports a joined up approach that values the health, economic and environmental benefits of active travel, and invests in it, for the benefit of our community and generations to come."

Royal Wootton Bassett
Wootton Bassett
Dan Alexander

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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8 comments

Avatar
Benthic | 1 year ago
3 likes

That sign is neither in the Highway Code nor Know Your Traffic Signs Official Edition. 

Advisory/pleading only.

Ignore and pedal on. 

Avatar
ktache replied to Benthic | 1 year ago
2 likes

The person who purchased the sign probably has a driving licence.

The person/persons who installed the sign probably has/have a driving licence/s.

The person who signed off on the job probably has a driving licence.

And if they do they would have had to do a driving test which would have meant familiarising themselves with the highway code.

Maybe a few of them should give them up.

Or at least look up the relevant signs in the online HC.

Avatar
Accessibility f... | 1 year ago
5 likes

Does a TRO exist that forbids cycling?  If not then any signage will be meaningless.  This sign is meaningless anyway, since the sign on the placard has no legal force.

If I lived there I'd just rip it down and chuck it away.  It's litter.

Avatar
Pedal those squares | 1 year ago
9 likes

"the path was never an approved cycling route and that a complaint from a resident has prompted them to update the signs in the area."

Should read

"the path was never an approved cycling route and that a complaint from a resident (a pal of a councilor who also hates cycling) has prompted them to update the signs in the area."

Next weeks news "Councilor x thanks local for giving £x to the councils charity of the year" 

Have I got over cynincal in my old age?

Avatar
mattw | 1 year ago
6 likes

Difficult to comment properly on this without real detail (which is obviously missing from the local news report), but:

If that is a Right of Way of some sort, it is run by the Highways Authority, not the Town Council. 

Does the Town Council have authority to put up such a sign, and restrict pasage? Are they rthe landowner? If not it is not aiui lawful, and cannot be enforced without duelegal processes. Town and Parish Councils *do* have certain rights.

Is there evidence of a previous sign existing?

This is a current and permanent issue, with all kinds of freelancers always trying to restrict public rights of way (if that is what this is). That's what the Ramblers and the Open Spaces Society monitor and campaign around.

If it was never an approved cycling route, and has been used as such regardless for 20 years or so, someone could try and get it added to the Definitive Map as a Right of Way by established usage.

Have to emphasise that I am really speculating to some degree here, as I do not have firm information.

Needs a local activist.

Ironically there look sto be plenty of room for a 3m shared path - in verges and a bit from the park / cemetary.

* Is this the location?https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5406865,-1.8987094,3a,40.4y,243.73h,83.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4yc9CZfh6xYkZEsK4pW5_g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

or this which looks more likely since it is on a cul-de-sac called "Old Court" 51.540584391500246, -1.9001363945343208

(Update: AFAICS this is the Old Court end of Public Footpath WBAS63, which is a Public Footpath. If anyoine wants a real cyclepath there, they are going to have to prove use through the official processes. An existing no cycle sign might poleaxe it, though I do not know what happens when the signh is unlawful.

https://wiltscouncil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=43d...

Possibly useful place to start:

https://www.oss.org.uk/need-to-know-more/information-hub/rights-of-way-i... )

 

Avatar
a1white replied to mattw | 1 year ago
6 likes

Well done on investigating that. Shame that the newspaper linked in the article could not perform a basic level of journalism and figure out if it was actually a bike path before or not. 

Avatar
eburtthebike | 1 year ago
18 likes

"An old no cycling sign has simply been replaced with a new no cycling sign, following a complaint from a resident that the sign was not clear," Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council said."

But the new sign, as I'm sure everyone here knows, has a red diagonal bar through it, meaning "no no cycling" which is absolutely clear and definitely not confusing.  If you're going to replace a confusing sign with a more confusing sign, what's the point?

Avatar
Clem Fandango replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
6 likes

One complaint? Followed by direct action?

Fake news.

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