Cycle Route Upgrades – Latest

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HarBUG has received an update from the County Council of the various projects to upgrade cycle routes to the campus.

 

 

Winnaway

There are still problems in getting this going. The current stumbling block is that it is legally a footpath and needs to converted to a bridleway before it can be signed, put on maps and classed officially as a cycle route. The easiest way to do this is with the agreement of the landowners, if they object (and we know there have been landowner problems) it could drag out for years. This is very frustrating and dissapointing. HarBUG has pointed out that you can claim a ‘pressumed right’ under the Highways Act 1980 if it has been in use by cyclists for 20 years. The Winnaway has been used for over 50 years by cyclists. Things are more complicated in that the Winnaway has no land registry entries and it turns out that all the houses at the bottom own part of the Winnaway as well as those at the top.

HarBUG has asked for a meeting with OCC to find out the actual problems and whether we can progress this further.

Sustrans Route 544 immediately west of the Campus

Designs have been submitted for the final section into the Campus from Wantage. The OCC project manager has rejected them as being not good enough in terms of quality. HarBUG has re-stated that we would like the surface to of the same standard as the Didcot to Upton old railway i.e. to the Sustrans standard.

Sustrans Route 544 immediately east of the Campus

We have complained about the state of the track from the A4185 to Hagbourne Hill. There is money from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for repairs to Sustrans tracks in the Science Vale i.e. the 544 and route 5 from Abingdon to Didcot. We have stated that although repairs are welcome, a long term solution is needed as farm vehicles will churn the surface again.

The Sustrans route repairs / rebuild need to be carried out this financial year. The Winnaway is not under the same time pressure but funding may be withdrawn if no progress is made.

All in all the update does not really do much to raise hopes but HarBUG will continue to press OCC to get the best solution.

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    • May 31, 2015 at 8:20 pm #2497
      admin
      Member

      Latest news about the Winnaway and the Sustrans route 544 either side of the Campus.

      [See the full post at: Cycle Route Upgrades – Latest]

    • June 1, 2015 at 7:37 am #2498
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      If the Winnaway is under joint ownership by those that adjoin it, getting landowners consents will be a nightmare as many may (a) prefer cyclists picking their way slowly rather than going at speed and (b) be disinclined to generate increased traffic past their houses. At least the 20 year presumed right should prevent them saying “actually I don’t want cyclists illegally using the footpath, please put signs up!

      It may be a stupid question (sorry) but, regarding 544 immediately *west* of campus, was it rejected by OCC because it didn’t meet the asked-for Sustrans standard or was it unnecessarily rejected as it didn’t meet some higher, un-asked for standard?

      The problem with 544 *east* of campus is that it will always have to be available to farm vehicles. Making the surface too good will create a rat run for cars.

      It sounds like OCC with some prompting can deal with 544 west, the Winnaway is a lost cause in the short to medium term and we should concentrate all efforts on a solution for 544 east!

    • June 1, 2015 at 7:43 am #2499
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      And I should have added that the issues with 544 east will be intensified by the lack of cyclists provision round the new Chilton interchange 🙁

    • June 1, 2015 at 10:02 am #2500
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      One piece of evidence for use of Winnaway by cyclists, if it’s any help, is that the OS were marking it as a cycle route on some maps. To see this, find it on bing.com/maps, where it says “Road” use the pulldown to change to OS Maps, and then zoom in far enough to get the Explorer. You should see orange dots, which mean cycle route (compare http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/legends/25k-raster-legend.pdf).

      Unfortunately they have dropped it again in the more recent edition, as currently visible on streetmap.co.uk, presumably once they worked out that it’s unofficial. Even so, it shows that the OS were aware of such a level of usage that they believed for a time that permissive access had been given — they clearly aren’t in the habit of doing this with most footpaths just because of the occasional cyclist seen venturing onto them.

      (Obviously Bing Maps could be updated at any time so grab a copy if needed.)

      Alan

    • June 4, 2015 at 7:02 am #2501
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      While recognising that one doesn’t want to create motor vehicle rat-runs, are there any minimum standards the surface of Oxfordshire cycle paths? I recently tried the 544 East and found several areas when hard stone “lumps” were dumped all over the path,making it a “get off and walk” to spare my 20″ folder even more damage. Presumably this “repair” was done because even the tractor drivers thought the surface too badly deteriorated.

      Any other 16″ or 20″ folder riders out there got any comments about the surfaces, or do you too stick to the main carriageways in most cases?

      Cheers
      Kev

    • June 4, 2015 at 7:09 am #2502
      robm
      Member

      Surely some strategically placed barriers/folding bollards away from the entrance that the farmers could have keys to would solve the problem of it being a rat run pretty easily?

    • June 4, 2015 at 7:19 am #2503
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      It would solve the problem but be illegal. Vehicles *are* legally allowed to use it, that is the point. The only way to discourage them is not to make it too attractive. As to the lumps of stone I imagine it is the long established practice of farmers themselves filling holes with whatever rubble they have to hand. Downgrading the legal status of such a longstanding route would be fraught with opposition from all sorts of groups. It is, clearly, possible (eg the Ridgeway partial closures to vehicles) but the OCC cost benefit analysis would (probably) prevent them from ever pursuing it.

      Of course IANAL and, clearly, a solution needs to be found (I confess I rarely cycle these days 🙁 but, if I do, this *is* my route). I imagine Sustrans has met these problems before in the country, they might be someone Harbug could go to for advice

    • June 4, 2015 at 7:24 am #2504
      robm
      Member

      Ah, right. Too much hassle for what it’s worth.
      It has got pretty awful. Even on a front suspension bike it’s not good. The worst bit right not are the potholes that have not been filled near the Harwell Campus end. There is at least a clearish track through the farmer’s repairs.

    • June 4, 2015 at 11:45 am #2505
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      if you are talking about the route from the traffic lights on the A4185 across the A34 to the top of Hagbourne Hill, it has *restricted* byway status west of the A34 and full byway status east of the A34 (the track north-south from Harwell to Chilton is a byway but this intersects with the restricted byway part, not the byway). In other words, the byway is legally a dead-end for motor vehicles driven by the general public. I see no legal problem with putting in a gate to prevent motor vehicles, provided that it is installed west of the A34 so that it is in the restricted byway section.

      (Note: strictly a restricted byway differs slightly from a bridleway in that vehicles are allowed to use it if they are not mechanically propelled, whereas a bridleway is no vehicles with the sole exception that cyclists may use it if they give way to pedestrians and horses. In principle, therefore, a horse-drawn vehicle would be permitted on a restricted byway — unlike a bridleway where horses may be ridden but not draw vehicles — so they could object to bollards that would interfere with this right. In practice, the council is happy to treat a restricted byway as equivalent to a bridleway, judging by bollards on a restricted byway section of the Ridgeway near Watlington, so I guess would have little sympathy with objections based on theoretical use by exotic non-motorised vehicles.)

      • June 4, 2015 at 12:55 pm #2507
        Anonymous
        Inactive

        Ah well, if that is the case then a gate with a farmer’s lock at the A34 would be feasible as a solution. It is true I have seen very few exotic vehicles on the route 🙂

    • June 4, 2015 at 12:14 pm #2506
      mika3l
      Member

      I use a 16″ Brompton from Didcot to campus, mainly along the Route 544. The short stretch of rough track at the Upton end of the railway path is not ideal, but not a problem either. I normally use the road from the top of Hagbourne Hill towards campus via Chilton. I have used the route 544 from the top of the hill towards campus (not in the last few months). It shakes the bike about and you have to weave to find the “least bad” path, but was passable; I find the road a better option at present.

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