Sustrans announces major review of National Cycle Network

Re: "That looks like heaven to me..."

It is if that's what you’re looking for - and - I spend a lot of my time seeking & enjoying tracks such as that.

What it's not is a piece day-to-day infrastructure that would encourage many people to use it in their daily commute/performance of chores.

'National Cycle Network Route 2', Studland, Dorset.

I often see tourists from The Netherlands round these parts in the summer and think to myself 'what must they think...?'

As others have said - they need to work out what they're doing.  Are they building a set of cycle-priority routes around the country which you could genuinely, seriously use as an inter-town transport option?  Or are they primarily building some nice paths in the countryside for people to take their toddlers for a ride on their trikes and dogs for a walk on.

I'd suggest that if it's the second, it's valuable but it's not 'transport', and calling them the 'NCN' is very wrong, so it has to be the first!

I rode the Bristol to Bath path for the first time the other day and almost had to pinch myself.  Wide, flattish, acceptably surfaced, and crucially, goes between places you might want to be, rather than just a random place in the country and then back.  Even with loads of kids and families on a sunny afternoon it's a great route, and you don't mind 'sharing' because these are future cyclists.  Compare that to parts of the NCN1 on the canal near Broxbourne where you're on the access road to a campsite with potholes you could take a swim in, or the huge proportion of NCN routes that are just on roads.  I know you can't tarmac every path, but if they even worked with the C&RT to ensure all canal towpaths were actually passable, wouldn't that be a start?  It's a ready made network, no need to cannibalise farmers' fields... 

The problem Sustrans has is the name of the NCN.

Firstly, the C.

In places the NCN is clearly built for cyclists - it takes you miles from anywhere such that travel by anything other that a bike is pointless as otherwise you won't cover enough ground to get where it leads in anything like a sensible amount of time.

In other places it is clearly designed with walking in mind, as the stretches are too short and or too full of pedestrians to be useful as family cycle routes and don't provide any time or pleasure benefit for 'cyclists' or cycle commuters.

Then there is the issue of expectation. Cycing encompasess such a broad spectrum of paticipants that it's impossible to please everyone.

And this then brings into question the N's, because for a lot of places it's only really a network when viewed on a map, which means that calling it National starts to fall down too.

The other major problem is that the NCN still relies on pretty basic and slightly gorilla tactic esque things such as the stick on route markers as shown in the photo, adding to the sense that it's somewhat half hearted. That was fine at the start, but a couple of decades on it should be well beyond that.

Personally I think the NCN has done an excellent job of helping Sustrans get to where it is, and to help raise the importance of good routes, but it's now being overtaken in that regard by other better (but still far from perfect) and certainly higher profile infrastructure such as the CS developments in London (some of which Sustrans is involved with in the background, some not).

Sustrans is far more than the NCN, and has been for some time, but for a lot of the cycling community, it's all it's known for, which is a shame.

I live in Reading and pretty much refuse to use the NCN round here. Difficult to know which is my favourite bit. There's the route to newbury which when it leaves the canal transfers onto muddy singletrack through a forest (usually 6 inches of churned up mud). Or maybe its the bit from West to East across the town centre which goes through a shopping centre, passing between restaurants and their outside seating. I tried to follow the NCN route to London once, after what seemed like 25 miles I reached Maidenhead 10 miles away. That should be a commuter route but is so circuitous that I don't know anybody that would use it and it certainly isn't pleasant enough to be a lesiure route.

Sustrans and the NCN is purely a box ticking exercise and I suspect now that Sustrans exist mainly to keep themselves in jobs.

How about they review volunteering?

I spoke to someone at Easter about volunteering on NCN6 (Northampton). A form with my details for their checks & complaince was completed and e-mailed to them. Since then, now't. Don't they want volunteers?

They really do stretch what they label as a route, too many pavements & car parks. If you do remove their horrendous and non-uniform barriers for trailers & mobility vehicles you'll get bored youths on mopeds and low cc motorbikes every night and then the path surfaces will be even more unrideable. I don't think anything not leg/ 1-horse powered should be on them, they can't cope with it as they aren't maintained. 

How to improve the NCN in one easy step - remove Sustrans from it.

Is the review intended to improve the NCN or to source new funds for the continued employment of those paid Sustrans staff (as opposed to the many volunteers)?

If it is for improving the network then surely deciding which parts of the NCN are for utility and which are for leisure would be a start.

We can measure their success in improving a leisure route by the sales of maps, footfall at the local tourist sights, takings at cafes and pubs etc. By their nature these routes can meandering and while not ideal we can tolerate a crappy surface if no one is using it from November to March.

Conversely utility routes need to be direct and with all-weather surfaces. Usage numbers are not so important as it is offering a viable choice that counts. A great surface that goes two miles out of my way isn't going to get me off the road on the way to work (the return trip is another matter).

I can deal with pedestrians on the NCN most of the time, I can't deal with their pooches. I exploded at a couple whose dog stepped in front of my bike 5 times in a row yesterday. "Just effing leash it". I know it's a shared path, they know it's a shared path, dogs don't.

The photograph heading this article is particulary apposite as route 5 - from Didcot to Oxford is an absolute horror. Badly signposted, circuitous route (especially around Didcot power station and the 'scenic' detour through the nearby industrial estate en route to the train station), and much of it prone to flooding. I seem to recall from the last time that I tried it that the surface from Radley to central Abingdon was sufficient to nearly rattle apart my otherwise very sturdy steel tourer, and I'm pretty sure there was one bit where it takes you against the flow of traffic on a narrow one way street in the aforementioned Abingdon (though that may just have been down to me getting lost - see above point about signposting).

Apologies for the rant - on paper it should suit my commute very nicely, but in practice it's unusable so I go for the road option (along with being shouted at by the occasional motorist). On a more upbeat note I should add that I think Sustrans are great, the NCN is very welcome, and I wish them every success in their endeavour. 

Good. 

Basic standards, standards, standards is what they need.

Sustrans has done great things with a tiny budget but I want to go on the NCN expecting basic things: a quality smooth sealed surface, no stupid barriers, protected lanes on main roads. 

Thats all. 

I wish they'd just admit that most of the NCN is unfit for commutimg, and devote their efforts to lobbying for real infrastructure rather than building joke tracks out of loose gravel.

Best thing Sustrans could do is make them 'cyclists have priority'. I have the option of using a stretch but I never do as it's slower due the surface and that's before you factor in stupid gates and twats with dogs on leads or not. Add in joggers with earphones and it's not worth my while, I'll take my chances with cars. 

Not ambitious enough. They need to have some empowerment to link up existing routes, where necessary being able to issue compulsory purchase orders when required; and having sufficient clout to force local authorities to make changes to the road network other than a ubiquitous inadequate white line.

A further vote for removing all access barriers to the network. Transitions from network to public highway and vice versa should never require a dismount. Proper ongoing maintenance funding, particularly cutting back trees/bushes also required. 

Suggest use of surfaces that allow practical commuting whatever the weather (Not loose stone or pulverized flyash) and removing steelwork barriers so that all cycles and cyclists can easily access them.

I've often wondered what the 'trans' in sustrans stands for, the wardens appear to spend quite a lot of time picking up after dog walkers. Where did the dog walkers go before these routes were built.

My local greenways are only usable for a decent commute first thing in the morning, and even then it's difficult.

To be honest most of it, seems to be leisure routes, ie old railways, and the like, rather than commuting/transport as such.  And clearly dog walking.

This said removing barriers so trailers and such can pass, my Mum can't get that far with her E-bike as the barrier would require her to stand the bike on its rear wheel to pass, even in other places getting a bike though is a tad awkward I get that they don't want motorbikes, but even so.